Buy to let mortgage searches increase year on year

Buy to let mortgage searches by advisors remained robust in February as landlords continued to review borrowing arrangements, even as purchase activity eased slightly.

Figures from Twenty7tec’s latest Mortgage Market Snapshot show advisers carried out 291,468 buy to let searches during the month.

That was 4% lower than January, although still 2% higher than the same month in 2025.

Within that total, buy to let remortgage searches increased by 8% year on year.

The data points to continued refinancing among landlords reassessing existing borrowing.

Market is settling

The firm’s chief customer officer, Nathan Reilly, said the figures show activity moving beyond the surge recorded at the beginning of the year.

He added: “February’s figures suggest the market is settling into a more typical rhythm following the strong rebound in adviser activity at the start of the year.”

“While search volumes have moderated slightly month on month, the fact activity remains higher than this time last year highlights the continued resilience of adviser demand.”

He also says that refinancing continues to feature prominently as borrowers review existing deals and look for rate certainty in a changing environment.

Residential mortgage searches

Across the wider mortgage market, advisers conducted 1,814,583 searches in February, though activity was 4.6% lower than in January.

After the seasonal rise seen at the start of the year, volumes remained 3.6% higher than February last year.

Remortgaging featured heavily and residential remortgage searches reached 688,053 in February.

That’s a 9% fall compared with January but 19% higher than the same point in 2025.

First-time buyer activity also declined slightly as advisers carried out 164,803 searches, down 2% compared with January and 12% lower year on year.