According to the latest broker survey by Twenty7Tec, residential searches rose 47.93%, BTL searches were up by 26.87%, and purchase documents were 56.61% higher
Around 73.9% of brokers would like to see the stamp duty holiday extended, according to the latest broker survey by Twenty7Tec.
Mortgage searches were up 43.78% between 8 July 2020 and 24 February 2021 as a result of the holiday.
Residential searches rose 47.93%, buy-to-let (BTL) searches were up by 26.87%, and purchase documents were 56.61% higher, the data also shows.
However, remortgage documents fell 9.63%.
Remortgage documents are at 38%, whilst purchase documents have reached 62%, according to the firm.
The split was 51.5% to 48.5% in favour of remortgages prior to the stamp duty holiday.
On a regional basis, in London, total mortgage searches rose 17.07%, residential was up 23.6%, however buy-to-let (BTL) searches rose only 3.83%.
In Manchester, mortgage searches during the stamp duty holiday period grew 16%, residential mortgages searches rose by 4.54%, and buy-to-let were up 53.26%.
In Wales, the total number of searches reached 48.99%, residential searches were up 54.59%, and buy-to-let searches noted a 29.32% rise.
James Tucker, founder and chief executive of Twenty7Tec, said: Our broker survey showed an overwhelming enthusiasm for a stamp duty holiday extension. There’s been an assumption that everyone is happy to extend the stamp duty holiday. However, whilst it has meant an increased level of demand at many points across the property buying spectrum, it is not universally welcomed.
Conveyancers have stated this week that many of them are happy to see it end at the end of March as they are, frankly, exhausted and trying to catch up with their commitments. Some solicitors have suggested that an extension should only apply to existing offers – though that feels hard to quantify and monitor, Tucker said.
He said that lenders have been balancing their risk for almost a year now and seem to be finally coming round to products offering over 90%LTV – the stamp duty holiday extension will quite likely fuel further demand for these products.