Mortgage borrowers did not wait for confirmation of the Bank of England’s (BoE) base rate cut before acting in December, Twenty7tec has revealed.

The firm found that demand peaked in the days ahead of the base rate cut and a growing number of borrowers took on more rate risk on the day itself.

Twenty7tec’s analysis showed that mortgage searches hit the month’s highest level on 9 December, when 69,462 searches were recorded, nine days before the BoE cut the base rate to 3.75%.

By contrast, activity on the decision day was lower at 54,847 searches, despite running 12.7% higher than the equivalent day last year.

The firm said that this early surge suggests that borrowers were responding to sustained media speculation around an imminent rate cut, who chose to move before the announcement rather than waiting for certainty.

Of those who searched on the day of the base rate cut announcement, owner-occupiers led the charge, with standard residential searches increasing by 1.51% year-on-year to 41,803. Buy-to-let demand also jumped by 7.1% in the same period.

Twenty7tec added that its data suggests the December base rate cut did not spark a last-minute scramble.

Head of product at Twenty7tec, Nakita Moss, stated: "This is a familiar pattern we see around base rate decisions. Borrowers tend to move early as expectations build, activity eases slightly on the day itself, and there is usually a noticeable uptick on the Monday that follows as people pick conversations back up. With this decision falling so close to Christmas, that post-decision bounce may not fully materialise until January.

"For advisers, that means December activity should not be read as a slowdown in demand. Many borrowers have already done the groundwork, and those conversations are likely to reappear quickly once the new year begins. Advisers who stay proactive, follow up early in January, and are ready to talk through both fixed and tracker options will be best placed to convert that pent-up demand."

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