Mortgage searches by first-time buyers were down 39.6% across the UK in December compared to November’s total, new statistics published by Twenty7tec have revealed.

The mortgage software provider also found that buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage searches on its platform fell by 32.8%.

Purchase mortgage searches were down 36.8% in December compared to November, while remortgage declined by 29.3%.

Twenty7tec also announced figures for fixed mortgage products in December, and revealed that searches for two-year fixed mortgages accounted for 49.65% of all fixed product searches in the final month of 2023.

Three to five-year fixed mortgages accounted for 31.95% of all fixed product searches, while five to 10-year fixed mortgages now account for 18.4% – the lowest proportion for at least three years.

“December is always a quieter month than November, but December 2023 was busier than prior year ends,” commented director at Twenty7tec, Nathan Reilly.

“January tends to be when we see a 70% rebound in the market compared to December. In fact, Januarys normally outperform the prior November too, so we are looking forward to a busy period in the run-up to the interest rate decision on 1 February 2024.”

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