Nationwide Building Society, the UK’s second largest mortgage provider, saw a significant increase in traffic to its online mortgage affordability tools yesterday as changes to Stamp Duty were announced.
Thousands of people flocked to Nationwide’s Quick Quote Mortgage Calculator, which provides a good idea of how much the Society could lend homebuyers in just a few minutes. This tool saw a 49 per cent increase in usage as people looked to get a snapshot of their potential budget.
Alongside this, the Society’s Mortgage Affordability Calculator, saw an increase of 61 per cent yesterday compared to the week before. The tool provides a more in-depth view of potential lending options for those looking to move or purchase a home.
Interestingly, the Society saw a major spike in traffic as the Chancellor was on his feet in the House of Commons. At 1pm yesterday, traffic was 70 per cent higher to Nationwide’s mortgage pages than the previous week. Nationwide saw a further 70 per cent spike in traffic at around 7pm, perhaps as people finished work and had discussed the potential of a house move with family.
As people reacted to the Chancellor’s statement, over 41,000 people visited the mortgage section of www.nationwide.co.uk looking at the current mortgage rates and offers available from the UK’s largest Building Society. This is an increase of 37 per cent when compared to previous weeks.
Matt Smith, Chief Product Owner – Mortgages, Nationwide Building Society said: “It’s really interesting to see that our Mortgage Tools had a significant spike in usage yesterday as the Chancellor announced stamp duty changes. We would encourage everyone who is thinking about moving home to visit our website and make use of our tools which give a really helpful guide on mortgages – from setting aside costs to understanding the different types of product available.”
A range of free mortgage tools are available on the Society’s website. Nationwide mortgages are available directly with Nationwide (online, telephone and in branch via Nationwide Now – a high-definition video service) as well as via brokers.
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