The tech adviser adds that remortgage searches were down 33% on its platform over the same period.

A year-on-year comparison shows purchase loan searches up 9.6%, while remortgage enquiries were down 17.4%.

Landlord purchase and remortgage searches were down 35% and 35.5%, respectively, on the previous month.

However, a year-on-year comparison shows buy-to-let purchase and remortgage enquiries up 0.3% and down 6%, respectively.

First-time buyer searches were down 37% in December compared to the previous month, but were up 4.6% on a year ago.

Twenty7tec director Nathan Reilly says: “As expected, December activity slowed even though we had a Bank of England rate decision just before Christmas.

“We’ve seen much of the pent-up demand in prior December’s come into the market in the subsequent January, so we’re hopeful that this period will once again be busy.

“If there had been an interest rate drop in late December, I think we’d be predicting a very busy market for the next few weeks.

Reilly adds: “On the rate decision day — 19 December 2024 – we saw a record high number of mortgage products on our systems with 24,264 available.

“There’s been talk in the market of the biggest ever Boxing Day bounce — when people begin to look at new properties, which will result in busier times for advisers over coming weeks.

“January is also likely to be busy — especially in the second half — with self-employed individuals looking for new mortgages as their tax bills are due 31 January and financial clarity means that more of them make decisions at this time of year about buying, remortgaging or moving home.

“2024 was the busiest ever year on record for self-employed people looking for mortgages on our systems, 7.47% on the prior year.”