The number of product illustrations generated by brokers in the past week has finally returned to pre-Covid levels, according to data from Mortgage Brain.

Downloads of European standardised information sheets increased by 3 per cent cent over the past seven days to just 0.26 per cent short of the nine-week average up until March 16 before lockdown began.

Firms from across the mortgage and housing sector have been reporting a surge in demand from buyers, in a trend which is borne out by the Mortgage Brain figures.

The sourcing system says that purchase ESIS are considerably above pre-pandemic levels and have been higher for the past eight weeks since the market reopened in England.

Demand is also strong among landlords, with buy-to-let purchase ESIS now 7 per cent higher than before Covid-19.

For residential purchase ESIS volumes at 80-85 per cent LTV are around 9 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, and now represent almost a quarter of all ESIS produced.

While product numbers fell by 1.6 per cent, following a 0.9 per cent drop the week before. 

There are now 9,031 mortgage products available, which is up by 21.6 per cent from the low-point of the Covid-19 crisis in the week ending April 12, but remains down by 38.5 per cent on the nine-week average to March 16. 

Mortgage Brain chief executive Mark Lofthouse says: “That ESIS volumes are stable and now at virtually the same levels seen before Covid-19 is astonishing. 

“The way that the housing market has bounced back, and maintained that recovery, speaks volumes about the overall strength of demand among borrowers to get on with purchasing their next home and moving up the housing ladder.”