Almost half of all fixed-rate mortgage searches were for terms of two years and under last month, as buyers look to ride out higher mortgage rates, according to Twenty7tec.

The broker search engine says two-year fixed-rate mortgages accounted for 47.4% of all fixed product searches in September, while three- to five-year fixes accounted for 32.4% and five- to ten-year fixes made up 20.2% of enquiries.

Mortgage costs have lifted from sub-2% rates for two- and five-year fixes three years ago, to stand at 6.47% for the average two-year residential fix, according to Moneyfacts today. The average five-year rate is 5.96%.

Twenty7tec director Nathan Reilly says: “During September 2023, almost half of all fixed mortgage searches were for terms of two years and under as buyers looked to shorten the effects of current rates in the hope of lower rates in the medium term.”

Overall, the business says September was the quietest month for mortgage searches this year with a total of 1.3 million searches, compared to 1.4 million the month before.

Reilly adds: “For the first time in five years, we saw lower overall volumes of mortgage searches in September than we did in August. 

“Perhaps that’s because people are hoping that rates have now peaked and that November’s Bank of England decision will bring stable news for the mortgage market.”

The firm points out purchase mortgage searches were down 5.4% in September 2023 compared to the month before.

Remortgage searches edged 0.2% lower over the same period. 

Buy-to-let searches were down 2.1% nationwide in September, while first-time buyer searches were down 6.2%.

Reilly points out: “Setting aside December performance – the quietest month every year – September 2023 was the quietest month for mortgage searches since October 2021, and the quietest month for remortgages since June 2022. 

“It was also the lowest month for total FTB searches since November 2020.”