Data from Legal & General Mortgage Club revealed since the announcement on November 5 the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme would be extended to the end of March 2021, adviser interest in these mortgages rocketed by 230% to 577.

According to the club’s SmartrCriteria tool, which helps advisers quickly determine the lenders suitable for a particular client, there were only 175 searches for furlough-friendly mortgages in October.

Kevin Roberts, director, Legal & General Mortgage Club: “Following the chancellor’s announcement last month confirming the government’s commitment to extend the furlough scheme, we are seeing more borrowers turn to the expertise of mortgage advisers to find furlough-friendly mortgages.

“Our latest findings from SmartrCriteria suggest the numbers of people looking for these products increased significantly in response to the extension of the scheme.

“Other incentives such as the Stamp Duty holiday have also made this an attractive time for furloughed workers to press ahead with their homebuying plans as they look to potentially save thousands in tax before 31 March.

“Despite ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis, the mortgage market remains open to all types of borrowers.

“Furloughed workers still need access to mortgage products and they shouldn’t assume that their circumstances mean they are locked out of the mortgage market.”