Mortgage searches increased to 1,675,984 in September, compared with 1,558,230 in August, Twenty7tec data reveals.

The latest figures show searches are up overall by 1.51% year on year and 7.56% month on month.

While Twenty7tec says it looks like a market in recovery, it is clear that growth is being fuelled almost entirely by remortgaging.

Remortgage searches climbed sharply to 820,429, a double-digit rise of 10.70% in August and up 14.59% compared with September 2024.

Nearly half of all activity (48.95%) was focused on remortgaging, up from 43.37% this time last year.

The residential market accounted for 610,022 of these searches, an increase of 15.22% year on year, while buy-to-let (BTL) remortgages grew by 12.81% over the same period.

Elsewhere, non-first-time buyer residential purchases totalled 547,859, falling 8.63% compared to a year earlier, despite a monthly lift of 5.94%.

First-time buyers saw only a slight monthly improvement of 2.57%, but are down 7.63% year on year, with their share of overall activity slipping from 19.24% in August to 18.36% in September.

BTL activity also reflects this split with total BTL searches reached 308,434, an increase of 4.04% on last year.

While remortgaging is strong in this segment, purchases are sharply down at 98,130 in September, 10.82% lower than in September 2024.

Data also found that long-term fixes are collapsing in popularity, with six-to-10 year products making up just 12.32% of the market.

It shows that this is the lowest ever recorded, and nearly half the 23.72% seen in September 2024.

Twenty7tec says the fall suggests borrowers are reluctant to lock themselves in at current rates, instead gambling on a more favourable outlook in the next few years.

Twenty7tec head of lender Nakita Moss says: “September’s numbers need to be read carefully. Yes, overall activity is up, but it is being propped up by remortgaging. That is not new confidence – it is people playing safe, making defensive moves to secure their household finances.”

“Purchases, and first-time buyer demand in particular, remain weak, and that is a concern for the long-term health of the market. The collapse in long fixes shows how sceptical borrowers are that current rates represent good value. What we are seeing is resilience, not recovery.”