According to the criteria search specialist, this could be a result of the approaching stamp duty holiday deadline.

“With buyers fearful of missing out on a significant tax saving if they don’t complete their purchase by 31st March, there is likely to be an increase in buyers looking to bridging loans to get their purchase over the line,” said Matthew Corker, lender relationship manager at Knowledge Bank (pictured above).

‘Maximum LTV’ was the top search for bridging.

Knowledge Bank explained that this showed that lenders’ criteria was still tight, and borrowers were looking to capitalise on the stamp duty holiday.

Brokers also made the same search for commercial finance, with ‘maximum LTV for commercial investment’ taking up second place in the top five.

In the BTL market, ‘first-time landlords’ was the top searched term for the third month in a row.

‘Lending to limited companies’ was the second highest searched term.

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‘Holiday lets’ re-entered the top five after a month-long hiatus, which Knowledge Bank justified to the increased interest in ‘staycations’ caused by the second lockdown.

Matthew commented: “The only constant at the moment is change.

“Some trends are continuing, with maximum LTVs again being a hot topic. 

“Lenders are responding and, in November, many LTVs were gradually increased back to pre-Covid levels. 

“However, an increase in new broker searches, such as 'soft footprint DIPs' and ‘first-time bridgers’, shows how the market is constantly changing.”

He added that, with lenders constantly adapting criteria to keep up with the evolving market, it was “physically impossible” for any mortgage intermediary to “keep all the different criteria in their heads”.

“It is now more important than ever for brokers to use a comprehensive criteria search system to ensure they can provide their clients with best advice — and evidence that they have done so.”