A new report from Connells showed the number of valuations carried out last month increased by more than a third compared to August, and during the third quarter there were 11% more valuations than during the second quarter. If these figures are assessed annually, they appear far more impressive as the annual growth was 63% compared to September 2010, although during that month mortgage lending was at its lowest level since 2000.

According to Connells the mortgage market has improved over the past few months in spite of continuing economic troubles, and it expects the remainder of the year to prove reasonably busy, especially in the buy to let sector. In fact this increase in mortgage valuations is partially due to the growing number of buy to let investors, as there were 54% more valuations conducted for would-be landlords than in August, and this is a 79% increase on September last year.
Even though some of the cheapest buy to let deals have disappeared over the past few weeks, landlords still appear to be enthusiastic about the market, especially as letting agents in Nottingham continue to register steady demand for quality properties.

Many homeowners are also choosing to remortgage, with activity in this sector at its highest level since December 2008, especially as the number of products available is currently at its highest level for more than three years. Leeds building Society launched its 1.99% mortgage last week, which is fixed for two years for anyone able to raise a 25% deposit, but this mortgage comes with a hefty £1,999 arrangement fee, and experts have already worked out that unless you're borrowing at least £164,350, it's probably not worth your while.