Some 47.3 per cent of queries in September were for this product term, significantly higher than the 22.5 per cent of searches during the same month last year.
The firm said this was likely due to borrowers expecting a shift in the economic environment such as a fall in mortgage rates and a change in government.
Searches for three to five-year fixes made up 32.4 per cent of queries and five to 10-year fixes accounted for around a fifth of activity.
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, said: “During September 2023, almost half of all fixed mortgage searches were for terms of two years and under as buyers looked to shorten the effects of current rates in the hope of lower rates in the medium term.”
September was quieter than usual, Twenty7tec noted, with a three per cent drop in searches completed on the platform. This marked the fewest searches so far this year.
Reilly added: “For the first time in five years, we saw lower overall volumes of mortgage searches in September than we did in August. Perhaps that’s because people are hoping that rates have now peaked, and that November’s Bank of England decision will bring stable news for the mortgage market.
“Setting aside December performance – the quietest month every year – September 2023 was the quietest month for mortgage searches since October 2021, and the quietest month for remortgages since June 2022. It was also the lowest month for total first-time buyer searches since November 2020.”
The number of available products rose five per cent to 16,888.
Buyer types
There were 6.2 per cent fewer searches for first-time buyers in September and remortgage queries fell by 2.1 per cent.
There was a 0.2 per cent drop in searches for remortgage products, while 5.4 per cent fewer purchase searches were made.
The split between purchase and remortgage searches was almost even at 52 per cent to 48 per cent. First-time buyers made up 18.5 per cent of activity, down from 19.1 per cent in August.
The average property value for a purchase mortgage was 2.6 per cent higher than the previous month at £335,888 and the average loan to value (LTV) required was 74 per cent. On average, purchase borrowers were looking for loans of £234,901 in September.
Twenty7tec recorded a 19.3 per cent share in searches for properties with a value of £500,000 or more and said although this was higher than in August, the market for properties at this value was at its lowest since December 2021.
