The number of product illustrations downloaded by brokers has increased for the sixth consecutive week and are now just 10 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, data from Mortgage Brain show.

Downloads of European standardised information sheets by advisers have increased by 18.4 per cent over the past week and by 51.3 per cent since the housing market reopened four weeks ago.

The number of available mortgage products climbed by 4.4 per cent over the past seven days to 9,017. 

This is up by 21.4 per cent from the low point in the week ending April 12. 

However, product numbers remain 38.6 per cent down on the nine-week average for the period before lockdown.

The data shows that the breakdown of residential lending between purchase and remortgage has returned to the same mix seen before the pandemic.

The mix of demand for different LTVs has also returned to previous levels with the exception of lending at above 90 per cent LTV.

Products with an LTV of 90 per cent or more accounted for just 1.4 per cent of ESIS produced last week, down from 6.6 per cent before lockdown.

Mortgage Brain chief executive Mark Lofthouse says: “The turnaround in ESIS numbers is extraordinary. 

“Few would have believed just five weeks ago that we would see volumes so close to those seen before the pandemic took hold. 

“The continued improvement in mortgage numbers is also encouraging, though the fact that lending above 90 per cent LTV remains so starkly down on the levels we typically saw just a few months ago is a reminder that lenders remain cautious.

“We are still in early days of this recovery, so only time will tell how sustainable the increase in both product numbers and ESIS volumes are. “But the fact that we have now seen sustained growth for a number of weeks provides good cause for optimism.”