Mortgage searches rose to 2,150,593 in March as landlords and other borrowers reacted to shifting rate expectations and another bout of market uncertainty. Data from Twenty7tec showed total search activity was up 19% on February and 17% higher than a year earlier, making it the busiest month so far in 2026.
For landlords, the more telling detail was the jump in buy-to-let and remortgage activity rather than any broad rush into new purchases. Buy-to-let searches reached 343,746 in March, up 18% month on month and 12% year on year, while residential remortgage searches climbed 32% from February to 907,610. That points to investors reassessing finance now, not waiting for a clearer rate path.
Remortgaging drives the sharpest rise in search activity
Twenty7tec said borrowers were responding to a mix of higher energy costs, geopolitical tension and changing expectations around interest rates. Residential purchase searches still rose to 725,485, up 8% on the month, while first-time buyer searches increased 5% to 173,752.
Nathan Reilly, chief customer officer at Twenty7tec, said: “The increase in search volumes reflects a market reacting to a mix of improving momentum and ongoing uncertainty.”
He added that borrowers were still having to deal with affordability pressure at the same time as mortgage pricing moved around. That matters for landlords because refinancing windows can narrow quickly when swap rates shift and lenders reprice at speed.
This follows Residential Landlord’s coverage of lenders widening buy-to-let choice, which showed some banks were still trying to win business even as pricing stayed unsettled. March’s search figures suggest landlords are responding by shopping around earlier and more often.
Landlords still face a narrow margin for error
Residential Landlord has also reported how Santander trimmed buy-to-let rates this week, underlining how quickly product pricing can move in both directions. Against that backdrop, the rise in search volumes looks as much defensive as optimistic.
That is the warning in the latest Mortgage Market Snapshot from Twenty7tec. A stronger search market does not automatically mean more completed landlord purchases. In many cases it may simply mean investors are trying to lock in a workable remortgage or test whether a refinance still stacks up before rates move again.
For buy-to-let investors, that makes March’s spike worth watching. If search activity stays high into late spring, it would suggest landlords are still willing to act when pricing looks fair. If it drops back sharply, the market may simply have been front-loading decisions during another short spell of volatility.
Opinion
Landlords are not charging back into the market here. They are checking the numbers more often because borrowing conditions can change in a week. That is a sign of caution, but also of a sector that still wants to transact when lenders give it a reason to move.
