Report finds mortgage applications rose during October

November 20, 2025 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

October brought a rise in the number of mortgage applications that were completed, according to a new report that has recently been released.

This report is the Mortgage Market Briefing published the network Stonebridge. What it shows is that there was a year-on-year rise of 7% in the number of applications throughout October. The majority of loans that were taken out during the month were fixed rate ones. They were the choice of 94.8% of borrowers, compared with 97.1% of them in October 2024. A further 5.2% opted to take out a variable rate mortgage, which is an increase on the 2.9% of last October.

Stonebridge is claiming that the report indicates that the market remains strong, even though the economy is uncertain. However, the network is also stating that the popularity of fixed rate deals shows that people want stability.

Talking to Mortgage Solutions about the rise in applications, Rob Clifford, chief executive of Stonebridge, said:

“One of the key reasons is that lenders continue to compete aggressively. Many of the major high street names have reduced rates in recent weeks, meaning the average borrower is now saving around £300 a year compared to 12 months ago.”

He then went on to add that this may not seem like a large amount of money to save, but that it was important to people in the midst of an ongoing cost of living crisis.

Most mortgage advisors who have the CeMAP qualification will agree that anything which improves affordability is important for potential buyers at the moment.