Statistics from Twenty7tec showed a month-on-month rise in remortgage searches of 13.8%, while searches for purchases fell by 2.4%.
Broken down by sector, residential remortgage search volumes were up by just over 15% compared to February, while BTL remortgage searches rose almost 13%.
By contrast, the number of searches for BTL and residential purchase deals fell by 3.43% and 2.23% respectively. Year-on-year, however, general remortgage search traffic was down 5.48%, while purchase search volumes were up by 2.34%.
Rate cut speculation
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, said the rise in remortgage traffic was likely to be due to more borrowers looking to refinance amid ongoing speculation around rate cuts later in the year.
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Last month, the Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to keep the base rate at 4.5%, with one member preferring to cut the base rate by 0.25%.
The committee said it kept the base rate in “restrictive territory” to “continue to squeeze out persistent inflationary pressures“.
However, recent disruption in the financial markets following the imposition of trade tariffs by US President Donald Trump now make a further base rate more likely, according to experts, which could lead to lower mortgage pricing.
Meanwhile, the tech firm’s data also highlighted a 10.46% rise in searches by first-time buyers compared to March 2024 and a reduction in searches for two-year fixed rates.
Searches for two-year fixed rates accounted for 40.95% of all fixed product searches, compared to 51.51% in March 2024. Meanwhile, 3-5-year fixed mortgages accounted for 36.33% of all fixed product searches compared to 28.41% a year earlier, while 5-10-year fixed mortgages now account for 22.72% of all fixed product searches compared to 20.08% in March 2024.
Reilly added: “It’s interesting to note the shift in fixed-term product preferences. The share of two-year fixed searches made up just 40.95% of activity, down from 51.51% a year ago, while interest in 3-5-year fixes has grown.
“Could this be indicating that borrowers are looking for a balance between flexibility and medium-term certainty?
“We’re also continuing to see strong adviser engagement with our affordability tools, and APPLY submissions remain strong – a sign that advisers are staying active and responsive in what remains an ever-changing market.”
