Broker searches fell by 4.8% across the Twenty7tec mortgage platform in August compared to the previous month, with the number of available home loans slumping to its lowest level since July last year.

The fintech firm says there were 1.4 million purchase and remortgage searches across its platform last month, a traditionally quieter period for the industry that includes the summer holidays, according to its August Monthly Mortgage Report. This follows a 4.7% rise in searches in July.

However, the data shows that the end of August saw an 11.52% drop to 13,616 available products, the lowest level since July 2021.

It adds that products are now at 67.48% of the all-time market high in February 2020, although availability is still 74.9% above the minimum during the pandemic.

Twenty7tec national account manager Megha Srivastava says: “We now have fewer mortgage products available in the market than at any time since 23 July 2021. Fewer products and similar volumes puts more pressure on the remaining products and the product teams.”

The group’s director of lender relationships Nathan Reilly adds: “The removal of some products has seen the average max loan to value rise. Products in the 85%-plus range now make up a greater percentage of the market than for some time.”

The report points out that 4 August saw the platform’s busiest day ever for remortgage searches, as homeowners move to secure new loans against a backdrop of rising interest rates. It adds that eight of the 31 days last month saw searches for remortgages outstrip searches for purchase loans.

However, month-on-month remortgage searches held flat at 641,004, while purchases searches fell by 8.4% to 775, 120.

Last month also saw first-time buyers make up 18.2% of searches, the lowest proportion of first-time buyers in the market this year.

August also saw searches for homes valued at over £1m fall by 3% to 57,866 month-on-month, the only property range to fall.

Twenty7tec founder and chief executive James Tucker says: “The front end of August was among the busiest of months we’ve ever seen. The latter half was definitely affected by the summer holidays and by the bank holiday weekend.

“Away from the headline figures, however, it’s a very nuanced market. Remortgages and BTL activity were high, but FTB, purchase and £1m-plus property searches were all down.

“The major story of the month has to be product availability, including a 26% drop in products with max LTV of 60% – a key component of the BTL market and a move that surely drove some of the extra search activity.

“Normally, we’d be expecting a back-to-school vibe this week, with the 14 weeks from the beginning of September to the run-up to Christmas being the busiest of the year. But if I have learned anything from the past couple of years, it’s that it’s easier to comment on what has come than what is to come.”