One in 29 of all mortgage searches were for homes valued at over £1m in August, according to Twenty7Tec.
The property platform says broker searches for homes valued at £1m or over lifted by 0.67% last month, while enquiries for properties in all prices below that band fell.
Searches for homes valued at under £150,000 slipped by 1.97%, those between £150,000 – £249,999 were down by 3.38%, houses between £250,000 – £499,999 were 1.03% lower, and homes between £500,000 – £999,999 were 2.77% down.
Twenty7Tec sales director Phil Bailey says: “August saw a fall in all declared valuation ranges except for properties worth over £1m, where we saw a small rise in volumes.”
Earlier this week research from Legal & General Home Finance found that the number of wards in England and Wales with an average house price of more than £1m jumped by 95% between December 2015 and December 2020, according to data drawn from the Office for National Statistics.
Overall, Twenty7Tec said the mortgage market in August showed signs of “stability” after 18 months of heightened activity.
It said there was a 3.6% fall to 739,736 in purchases searches in August compared to July, mainly due to the bank holiday, while remortgage searches edged 0.2% lower to 437,817 on the month before.
First-time buyer searches as a percentage of overall searches was 19.51%, compared to 19.45% in July.
Twenty7Tec’s Bailey adds: “Searches in August 2021 were broadly the same as those for July 2021.
“We saw a small drop – 3.6% – in total searches, which is probably almost all down to the bank holiday.
“Most figures, including FTBs in the market, the split of purchase and remortgages, all settled around their long-term averages.”
Twenty7Tec chief executive James Tucker says: “After 18 months of constantly moving markets, it feels a little odd to report on stability.
“August 2021, aside from the slight market side effects of the bank holiday, was broadly the same as July 2021.
“No major shocks, no major moves.
“Is this the long-desired return to normal or the calm before the storm? Let’s see what September brings.”
