FTB online enquiries hit 16m high

The site said first-time buying enquiries remained the number one advice driver for consumers looking for whole of market mortgage advice according to unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find a mortgage adviser’ search.

Re-mortgage advice dropped slightly from 36% in July to 33% in August but continued to drive a high number of enquiries.

Personal retirement planning ranked top of all ‘find an IFA’ searches in August, driving 38% of enquiries and remaining the most sought after area of advice.

The site also found that demand for investment and savings advice remained high, accounting for 26% of searches.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, said: “Our latest figures reveal that enquiries for first-time buyer advice reached a new high in August, suggesting real momentum in the first-time buyer market and a real consumer drive for mortgage advice.

“This new market confidence has been fuelled by the continuing fall in house prices and mortgage rates since 2008.

“We have also seen an increasing number of lenders return to the mortgage market offering increasingly attractive rates to buyers with a 10% or smaller deposit.

“It’s great to see that these opportunities are encouraging consumers to seek whole of market mortgage advice.”