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Brokers - let's talk about product availability

Journalist: John Fitzsimons, Freelance

ended 02. May 2023

We had data through from Moneyfacts last week that said that the number of mortgage products had passed the 5,000 milestone, the first time it's managed this since last May https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2023/04/26/residential-mortgage-availability-breaches-5000-for-first-time-in-over-a-year/

What is supply really like in a practical sense? 

What areas have seen a greater level of choice for their clients? 

Where are there still problematic holes? 

And which lenders have been best at filling the gaps?

Any and all thoughts on this one are very welcome!

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
I don't see a huge struggle for mortgage deals as many of the high-street lenders have very similar rates at the moment. Their differences continue to be based on affordability and criteria, and this will continue to spread business in a reasonably uniform way. Smaller lenders and specialist providers have some renewed confidence, as we have seen more products come to market with some improvements to criteria (such as the level of background credit issues). Where I have seen some major changes to the number of deals would be in the Buy to Let market, as lenders have looked to provide a greater choice of options with different fee levels, to accommodate the ICR requirements many landlords are frustrated with. In particular, those lenders geared more toward professional landlords are the most helpful.
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Aaron Strutt
Product and Communications Director at Trinity Financial
It is great news there are more mortgage rates available and the banks and building societies are pushing harder to attract different types of borrowers. Some of the lenders have pages of mortgage rates on their product guides while some have a much shorter choice of deals.
The only issue is the rates are so much more expensive than they were. Many of the people we are speaking to understand the cost of borrowing has increased but still hope rates will come down next year.
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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
It's been a long time since I felt that the market had any significant gaps in product availability; with most types of interest rates, tie-in period (or lack of) and borrowers being covered by someone. The issue can be cost, with some niche areas being serviced by very few lenders and therefore borrowers having to pay a premium to get a mortgage, which will put some off, but they can get the borrowing if they want. Product innovation and criteria changes are becoming the new battleground between lenders, rather than purely competing with each other to see who can have the cheapest 2 or 5 years fixed rate or the most generous affordability calculator. This means lenders are looking hard at things like zero-hours contracts, umbrella companies, and variable incomes (like commission or overtime) and taking another look at how they deal with the self-employed. There are even rumors of 100% mortgages potentially making a return.