In other highlights of the report, last month was 12% busier for mortgage searches than December 2020, while 7 December was the only date in the month to rank in the top 50 for mortgage search volumes in the year.

Remortgaging accounted for 42.3% of the mortgage market in December, according to the report.

The number of first-time buyers as a percentage of all mortgage searches was the second lowest in 20 months in December, at 17.97%. November’s FTB figure was the lowest in the recorded period, at 17.6% of searches.

The number of searches for mortgage products at 95% LTV and above also fell, recording a lower level than in the week ending 19 April 2021 at 23,316.

However, there were 16,923 mortgage products on Twenty7Tec’s systems at the end of 2021, a jump of 74.6% from 31 December 2020 and December saw the highest daily average household income for mortgage searches of the year, at £69,349.

There were fewer searches for properties valued at £150,000 or less in December than at any time since April 2020.

Twenty7Tec founder James Tucker says: “We made it! 2021 was a year that we will talk about for many years to come in our industry. It had everything from the highest volumes we’ve ever seen to a sense that everything has changed, fundamentally and for good, in how we support customers in searching, applying for and ultimately obtaining a mortgage.

Congratulations on making it through such a tumultuous year – look out for our Future Demands report due early in January 2022!”