Cautious second steppers hold out for future rate cuts

The market has slowed down slightly, but overall activity is significantly healthier than last year.

Related topics:  Remortgage,  Mortgage rates
Rozi Jones | Editor, Financial Reporter
3rd July 2025
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The market has slowed down for second-steppers, as homeowners hold out in the hope of securing better rate deals, according to the latest data from Twenty7tec.

Remortgage searches dropped by nearly 10% during the month, falling to 645,446 – down by 71,080 compared to May (716,526) – marking one of the sharpest monthly falls in remortgage activity in 2025 so far.  

The data revealed that June saw 1,730,872 total mortgage searches – up 11.75% compared to June 2024 but down by 7.78% from May (1,876,968).

There were 329,998 first-time buyer searches – down 9.7% since May, but still up 14.5% on June 2024.

Residential purchase searches (non-first-time buyers) fell to 471,800, down 7.83% from May and 1.62% lower than June 2024.

Buy-to-let purchase searches totalled 96,280 in June, down 5.34% on the previous year but very slightly up month-on-month by 0.04%.

Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, commented: “Despite the recent Bank of England announcement that interest rates would be held rather than raised, we are witnessing a quiet yet growing confidence that  rates will continue to fall this year.

“We’ve seen months of high remortgage activity, but now people are holding back. There’s undoubtedly a significant portion waiting to commit – potentially influenced by increasing media coverage, with predicted autumn rate cuts encouraging a ‘wait and see’ approach.

“The market has slowed down slightly, but overall activity is significantly healthier than last year. First-time buyer interest remains high, and we are noticing people leaning towards shorter-term fixes – all pointing to some optimism that interest rates may drop next year.

“Will they be rewarded? Or are we heading for disappointment? Only time will tell – but what’s clear is that borrowers are watching the market more closely than ever.

"For advisers there’s an opportunity to double down on proactive engagement, ensuring every lead is nurtured efficiently as summer brings softer demand.”

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