MAB anticipates strong year for mortgage activity

May 28, 2025 by Brendan O'Neill

Surveys and Statistics

The Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) predicts there could be even more activity in the mortgage market this year than in 2024, thanks mainly to the purchase and refinancing sectors.

The chair, Mike Jones, stated that the boost in activity levels that happened in the second part of last year had carried on into this one. He then pointed out that the first quarter of 2025 had been an especially healthy one in terms of mortgage completions. This was largely down to people trying to get deals over the line before the stamp duty threshold changes kicked in.

This is not something that will be a factor in mortgage activity levels for the rest of this year, but Jones remains confident about them. Talking to Mortgage Solutions, he said that:

“Purchase activity remains stronger year-on-year, underpinned by improving buyer affordability and an increased supply of new properties coming onto the market. If mortgage rates remain stable or decline further, we expect purchase activity in 2025 to continue to outperform 2024.”

Jones then went on to add that MAB was anticipating a rise in the amount of refinancing activity during the latter part of this year and the start of 2026. This is because a large number of fixed-rate mortgages are set to come to an end during that period, leaving borrowers searching for ways to avoid rate rises.

If these predictions turn out to be true, it will be welcome news for anyone with the CeMAP mortgage advisor qualification.