Who can help brokers to help themselves and their clients?

The final few weeks of 2022 mark an interesting time for the mortgage market. The recent Autumn Statement has generated some much-needed market stability which is a far cry from the aftermath of the mini-budget which sent swap rates spiralling, resulting in lenders struggling to know where to price their products. A combination which left the housing and mortgage markets in a state of flux for a good few weeks.

Without dwelling on individual policies and actions from the Autumn Statement, the subsequent period of relative political and economic calm appears to be providing the platform for lenders to transition from a more defensive stance to a somewhat more attacking one.

It will be interesting to see how this translates from a pricing perspective, although the signs have looked increasingly positive in recent weeks. The latest data from Moneyfacts – as of the 22nd November – suggests that the average five-year fixed mortgage rate has dropped below 6% for the first time in seven weeks.

This highlighted that the average five-year fixed rate rose from 4.33% on the 1st of September to hit 4.75% on the 23rd September and 6.51% by the 20th of October. It has since fallen to 6.32% by the 1st of November and 5.95% as of the 22nd of November. The average two-year fix remains over 6% at 6.13%, although it had reached a high of 6.65% on the 20th October before falling back to 6.47% by the 1st November.

At one stage it appeared that many lenders had almost shut up shop for the year, but it’s great to see increased levels of competition emerging which are likely to push rates down even further, but to what level remains to be seen.

Recent market turbulence has asked many questions of advisers and a large number of borrowers nearing the end, or at the end, of their fixed rate deals. Some of whom may still be playing the waiting game before committing to their next deal.

This patience may pay off but any decision needs careful consideration and would certainly benefit from some good, professional advice. This is evident in light of the volume of lender updates which are coming thick and fast. Even the most dialled-in mortgage brokers are finding it difficult to stay abreast of the constant changes to lenders’ products and criteria.

In new research from Smart Money People, brokers admitted that they have struggled to keep up to date with lender updates and while technology is helping, it doesn't appear to be the silver bullet, as many respondents said they also check lenders’ websites and most don't wholly appear to rely on sourcing. Meanwhile, 43% of brokers who took part in the survey said they rely on emails from lenders, either wholly or somewhat, in order to be aware of their latest product and criteria updates.

So who can help brokers to help themselves and their clients?

With a greater number and variety of borrowers being forced into the more specialist areas of the lending market – and having to rely on alternative sources of finance to fund their property-related issues and aspirations – this makes it even tougher for brokers who may be less familiar with individual lending requirements in some of these niche areas.

In order to deliver these types of solutions, brokers may require additional support from trusted partners such as mortgage clubs and specialist advisory firms who fully understand individual criteria and underwriting requirements in these specialist cases.

After all, we’re operating in an increasingly complex marketplace where it’s impossible for brokers to have all the answers at their fingertips and the reliance on this specialist support to get more business over the line is only likely to continue in 2023.