Most successful ever January for mortgage searches
Boxing Day is typically the busiest day of the year for RightMove, and now that magic dust has settled moving into the New Year, and transpired into mortgage enquiries, it’s clear to see an uplifting statistic: the first week of this year was the busiest first week of any year ever in the UK for mortgage searches, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th being the two busiest days ever recorded.
Nathan Reilly, Director of Twenty7tec, has said: “2024 has certainly got off to a good start. Following the news that Rightmove saw a record number of homes putting their house up for sale on Boxing Day, enquiries are flooding through. Last year, we saw that January was the second busiest month of the year for first time buyers and January, February, and March were the three busiest months of the year for first time buyers mortgage searches. If things keep on going the way they are, we might see new records being made across the board for mortgage enquiries.”
Moreover, mortgage approvals increased from 47,900 in October to 50,100 in November. The general trend in mortgage approvals throughout last year has been upward, and with January proving to be so positive so far, the Bank of England has suggested that more people will likely be looking to move homes as the year goes on.
As the base rate appears to have peaked at 5.25%, industry experts are optimistic about the future of 2024, boosting confidence for buyers and sellers alike. That the Bank of England’s base rate has remained stable at 5.25% for longer than expected shows promising signs for the industry, as Nicky Stevenson, Managing Director of Fine & Country, has explained: “It allows for increased planning confidence among buyers and sellers, setting the stage for a more stable and predictable year ahead.”
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