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Barclays enhances affordability calculations: "We could be entering a new golden era of mortgage lending"

ended 19. May 2025

Barclays is the latest lender to enhance its affordability calculations. As of today, the lender has reduced its stress rates for residential purchase and remortgage applications. According to Barclays, a family could now borrow up to £30,750 more under the revised calculation — subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Newspage asked brokers for their views, below.

 

 

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
We’re now seeing a real shift in the mortgage market. It’s no longer just about rate, criteria or LTV. Lenders like Barclays are now competing on raw borrowing power. By easing stress tests, they’re unlocking thousands more in potential lending for families, which could make the difference between staying put and moving up the ladder. This marks a new battleground in the mortgage war: affordability. With the market heating up and customer appetite returning, lenders are clearly prepared to stretch a little further to win business and borrowers who’ve previously hit a wall may now find doors opening.
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Bob Singh
Founder at Chess Mortgages
In a smart move, Barclays has flexed its lending muscle and enhanced its lending by increasing eligibility for borrowers. Other lenders have already made this move in what will be a new battleground for new business. This will be music to the ears of Rachel Reeves who, along with the FCA, encouraged lenders to extend lending multiples to bolster the housing market. However, this is a double edged sword. Increased lending could fuel house prices and make it harder for buyers who are not quite to buy this year. Prices are already showing signs of moving forward this year. Barclays' JBSP will become even more attractive with this lending boost, but borrowers are advised to keep their mortgages at an affordable level and ensure that mortgage protection costs are also factored in.
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Sean Horton
Managing Director at Respect Mortgages
In a smart move, Barclays joins other major lenders in tweaking affordability rules to help more buyers get on the ladder. Lending more money isn't just about profits, it's about sensible risk assessment. With house prices high and rates falling, these changes make sense. Combined with family support options like JBSP mortgages, this opens doors for many first-timers. The mortgage market works best when lenders compete and innovate and this ticks both boxes.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
The Chancellor's request to lenders is really starting to gain traction, with Barclays also now increasing its potential loan sizes. Will it help borrowers? It certainly cannot hurt those looking to move or remortgage, given the bumpy road we've endured since 2022. With the advent of 100% lending, the mortgage market is striving to innovate and expand borrowing options. We could be entering a new golden era of mortgage lending, the first since the Great Financial Crash.
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Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
“For many families, this could be the green light they’ve been waiting for. This move from Barclays shows responsiveness to current market conditions. With inflation easing and rates slowly heading south, reducing stress rates is both timely and logical. Combine that with JBSP mortgages and you have a genuinely powerful set of tools to help first-time buyers and younger borrowers get a foot on the ladder. Barclays are sending a a message that they want to lend, and they’re making it easier for good borrowers to access more.
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Aaron Strutt
Product and Communications Director at Trinity Financial
There has been a pretty concentrated effort by many of the big lenders to start issuing more generous loan sizes and lots of borrowers are starting to notice the difference. With so many lenders offering around £30,000 more income stretch mortgages are not being used as much and borrowers are finding it easier to get the loan size they need to buy the properties they want. They are also getting enough money through the biggest lenders, which is good news as the biggest lenders generally offer the most competitively priced rates.