Using technology to source and secure the right client outcomes

Just when the intermediary market thought it might get an opportunity to enjoy what was looking like a relatively tranquil economic summer – and I say this loosely in the wake of the raft of events over the past few years – it was soon brought back down to earth with a bump following inflation figures which sent shockwaves through the money markets.

Let’s hope this turbulence is temporary and some of the stability experienced over the first few months of 2023 seeps back into the mortgage market as the last thing lenders, advisers and borrowers need is more uncertainty. However, we can’t ignore the impact and implications of this from a product choice and pricing perspective as lenders had to act quickly to combat rising swap rates and other influencing factors which were placing additional pressure on lending propositions across the residential and buy-to-let sectors.

This was evident in data released by Moneyfactscompare on the 30th May 2023 which reported that, since the start of the previous week, the number of residential mortgages fell from 5,385 deals to 5,012. In addition, it reported that the average rate on a two and five-year fixed rate mortgage had risen to 5.38% and 5.05% from 5.26% and 4.97% respectively since the start of May.

Meanwhile, the buy-to-let market also saw lenders pull a host of fixed rate deals, with average rates on the rise. Over the same timeframe, the number of buy-to-let mortgages fell from 2,748 deals to 2,343. The average rate on a two-year fixed buy-to-let mortgage rose to 5.61% from 5.56% since the start of May. On a more positive note, the rate of five-year fixed rate stayed the same at 5.52%.

This data offers a brief but important insight into the unpredictable nature of the market and the effects on advisers and their clients during a time when affordability constraints continue to generate their own set of challenges.

We know that life as a mortgage adviser has many ups and downs. Our family has been in the business for almost 30 years now and we know how tough the industry can be at times and how important it is to find solutions which can make our lives that bit easier along the way.

Technology remains at the heart of this quest and one of the main reasons we created OMS was to discover a simple, easy to use and better connected adviser, client and lender journey. Integral within such a complex transaction is to work closely with key partners to offer the essential services required by advisers to better service their clients ever-changing needs.

From a product tracking perspective, one example of this is our recent integration with SmartrFit as this allows us to offer OMS users free access to the mortgage research and sourcing platform without any licence fees or contracts. In such a fast-paced market, we appreciate that advisers need to produce recommendations for their clients quickly by bringing together criteria, an affordability calculator, product sourcing and a property check tool. Ideally in one place which can be pre-populated with existing data.

Looking forward, many obstacles will continue to arise for borrowers in what remains a somewhat unstable economic climate. When it comes to sourcing and securing products for their clients, and with the next Consumer Duty deadline soon approaching, a growing number of advisers will need to lean on a range of tech systems and solutions to overcome these obstacles. And choosing the right option will be critical in delivering the right client outcomes in the most efficient and effective manner possible.