The number of mortgage searches in 2024 increased year-on-year by 8%, analysis by Twenty7tec has found.

The mortgage advice tech firm’s latest data revealed that searches for product types dropped to an average of 1.7, compared to 2.6 in 2020.

Twenty7tec's data showed that 2024 was the "busiest ever year" for purchase mortgage searches, increasing by 13.9% year-on-year, and beating the previous record set in 2022 by 8.1%

It was also the busiest ever year for remortgage searches, jumping by 5.8% year-on-year and 5.5% on the record set in 2023.

Twenty7tec said that while the first-time buyer market remained "in the doldrums" compared to the broader market, the number of total searches by first-time buyers reached a record high, hitting 17.6 million, which was a jump of 5% on 2023.

Green mortgage searches increased by 100.7% compared to 2023, while buy-to-let green mortgages were up 67.4% year-on-year, and purchase green mortgages up 111.6%.

Director at Twenty7tec, Nathan Reilly, said: "We’ve seen an increased number of total mortgage searches again year-on-year. But the picture is nuanced. The increases overall mask a drop off in remortgage searches and a large rise in residential purchase searches.

"In 2020, mortgage rates were historically low, driven by central banks slashing interest rates to support economies during the COVID pandemic. Fixed rate mortgages were particularly popular as borrowers sought to lock in these favourable rates amidst economic uncertainty.

"However, we can see that advisers explored multiple options and scenarios, comparing rates for fixed and variable mortgages as they tried to help their customers to navigate a rapidly changing financial landscape. This contributed to a higher average number of searches per person during that time."

The average 2024 day saw 21,964 product variants available, which is a 34.5% increase on 2023. This was also a new record for this statistic.

Reilly added: "With more products on the market than ever before, and new records being set it’s vital that advisers have the latest information at their fingertips, otherwise customers will get wise and move elsewhere. That’s where good technology comes in to support advisers and streamline the customer experience."

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