Mortgage searches for first-time buyers (FTBs) grew by 8% on Legal & General Mortgage Club’s SmartrCriteria tool at the close of last year, the club has reported.

Additionally, searches for equity release products grew 38% along the same time frame, which the mortgage club says is a sign that the ‘Bank of mum and dad’ is driving many FTB transactions.

Overall, even though the stamp duty holiday ended, product searches increased by 3% in November 2021.

The mortgage club also points out that demand for products aimed at borrowers with credit issues fell, as well as searches for borrowers with missed mortgage payments and those with debt management plans (by 10% and 9% between October and November, respectively).

And searches for expat borrowers flew up by 29% in November after suffering a fall the month previous.

Legal & General Mortgage Club head of broker propositions Clare Beardmore comments: “It’s promising to see FTBs continue to support demand in a vibrant housing market, that contrary to popular belief, has remained buoyant in spite of the expiry of the stamp duty holiday.

“Our data also shares some positive signs that borrowers are starting to rebuild their finances following the pandemic, with demand for products for the credit-impaired continuing to fall.

“We look forward to the insights shared from our December data, which will certainly paint a more complete picture of the trends that dominated 2021.”