April posted the fewest monthly mortgage searches since last October, apart from December which is traditionally a slower period, according to Twenty7Tec.

The mortgage search platform’s April data also says that last month saw a 20% drop in buy-to-let mortgage searches.

It adds that first-time buyers as a percentage of total mortgage searches “has crept back over one-fifth again”, the first time since last June.

April was also the first month where there were fewer mortgage products on the market at the end of the month than the prior month-end since October 2020.

Last month also saw a 20% drop in fixed mortgage searches compared to March. March was the high point for fixed mortgages since the platform began reporting figures publicly in January 2020.

April posted a 25.5% drop in remortgage searches month-on-month, and also saw the biggest fall in mortgage searches for properties valued at over £1m, a 16.01% decline.

Twenty7Tec chief executive James Tucker says: “It’s hard to determine if the changes we’ve seen in the market are due to a change in confidence, economic outlook, the upcoming Bank of England potential rate change or simply down to April having fewer working days and everyone needing a well-earned break.

“The next few days for the market are going to be very instructive.”