Mortgage search volumes have jumped by 14.6 per cent week-on-week since the Budget, according to data from Experian.
Mortgage enquiries on the financial data giant’s mortgage comparison service also leapt by 13.5 per cent in the three weeks following the Budget, as searches progressed to formal applications.
At the 3 March fiscal event the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s confirmed that the stamp duty holiday would extend until the end of June, rather than winding up on 31 March.
Sunak said the tax relief will continue to apply to properties for sale up to a threshold of £500,000 until 30 June.
The nil rate band for stamp duty would subsequently drop to £250,000 until the end of September, returning to the standard cut off rate of £125,000 from 1 October.
The chancellor also announced a £3.9bn government guarantee scheme, covering loans for first-time buyers taking out 95 per cent mortgages on properties worth up to £600,000.
The scheme begins next month, with several large lenders such as Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander signing up to the plan.
Experian said that mortgage applications rose most sharply in the week commencing 7 March, directly following the Budget, up 8 per cent over the previous week.
The financial firm added that growth is being fuelled by under-30s, with mortgage applications rising 4.2 per cent among this group in the first two weeks of March 2021, compared with the last two weeks of February.
Experian managing director consumer services Clive Lawson says: “Interest in home ownership continues to rise as the stamp duty holiday extension allows consumers to put down larger deposits. The return of government-backed 95 per cent mortgages could also help more people realise the dream of buying a home, especially young homebuyers.”
Lawson adds: “With mortgage options continuing to steadily increase, it’s important to use a broker and eligibility services, especially for higher loan-to-value ratios, so you get the product that’s best for you. People with high scores tend to be able to access the best mortgage rates, so it’s worth taking some time to make sure your credit score is in the best possible shape too”.
