Broker mortgage searches tumbled 12% in March compared to the month before, hit by the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates and the Bank Holiday weekend, data from Twenty7tec shows.

The broker search engine business says purchase mortgage enquiries were down 8.1% in March, compared to the previous month and were down 4.98% compared to a year ago.

Remortgage searches slumped 15.61% compared to the previous month, but were up 3.75% compared to 12 months before.

Buy-to-let mortgage enquiries were down 9.65% in March compared to the prior month and were down 9.8% compared to a year ago.

First-time buyer searches fell 12.1% in March compared to the previous month and were down 11.1% from 12 months ago.

Two-year fixes accounted for 51.5% of all fixed product searches, compared to 41.3% a year ago.

While five- to ten-year fixes account for 20.1%, compared to 24.7% last February.

Last month, the BoE’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee interest rates on hold at 5.25% for the fifth time in a row, a 16-year high.

March also contained the four-day Easter weekend break, which removed two business days from the month. 

Twenty7tec director Nathan Reilly says: “March saw a slowing of the market as the combination of an unusually early Easter and the Bank of England’s decision to maintain interest rates saw a nudge downwards in mortgage searches. 

“The figures are, of course, high when viewed in the long-term but will feel slower to a market that has been running hot since Boxing Day 2023.

Reilly adds: “One new record of note is that more mortgage products are available now than ever before. 

“At month-end, total product availability stood 7.2% higher than the prior month, the first time we have seen over 21,000 products on the market. 

“The previous record was set just a few days before the pandemic affected the UK market in March 2020.”

“Finally, consumers have built in an expectation of change in rates as the majority of fixed mortgage searches are now for two years or less.”