Richard Pike, sales and marketing director at Phoebus Software, comments: “When you consider the fact that there were already mortgages in the pipeline before the lockdown in March, you can see that many of the approvals in May were due to lenders flicking the switch and starting the approval process again.

“However, when we look forward, the figures in the coming months will not only reflect the market shutdown, but also an element of caution as people consider their long-term finances. Unemployment figures are already on the rise and recession is on the horizon, so confidence is going to be hit.

“As things get back to some sort of normality there will undoubtedly be calls for a stamp duty cut to give the market the boost it needs.  However, with the Treasury’s coffers severely depleted that is highly unlikely.”