Per working day, the ESIS numbers for July were slightly below the peak seen in February, but taken as a whole July has been the most productive month of the year to date.
On a weekly basis, ESIS volumes grew last week by 0.2%, leaving them 1.7% above those seen pre-pandemic; this is the second straight week in which ESIS volumes have been above those before COVID-19 reached the UK.
The increase in ESIS has been driven by strong demand from purchasers, with residential purchase ESIS having been around 10% higher than pre-pandemic levels for six consecutive weeks.
With buy-to-let, purchase ESIS have been around 7% above the average volumes seen before COVID-19 for nine weeks in a row.
Lending at the highest loan-to-values (LTVs) is holding steady, with ESIS volumes for cases at 80% to 85% LTV have remaining at around 9% higher than pre-COVID levels for seven consecutive weeks.
They now account for almost a quarter (22.5%) of all ESIS produced.
Overall product numbers, however, have fallen for four consecutive weeks, dropping 1.3% last week to stand at 8,857.
They are now down by 39.6% on the nine-week average to 16 March, but are up by 19.3% on the lowest point seen during the crisis.
Mark Lofthouse (pictured), CEO at Mortgage Brain, said: “It is little short of extraordinary that we have seen such a bumper July.
“ESIS volumes have been trending healthily upwards for some time, a clear demonstration of just how strong demand to buy is from both owner occupiers and property investors.
“This is traditionally a quieter time for the market, so it will be interesting to see if this momentum is maintained over the summer.
“Product numbers remain a concern, however.
“While they have dropped by only modest amounts over the last four weeks, the fact is that brokers and their clients now have 4.4% fewer deals to choose from than a month ago, and almost 40% fewer than in the days before the pandemic.”
