Although there is often a lull in the market in January, we certainly haven’t had a dull start to this year.
In the week Mortgage Strategy went to press, the Bank of England’s MPC committee reduced rates by a further 0.25 percentage points to 4.5%, to mixed industry reaction.
There’s no doubt that further rate cuts passed on by lenders should prompt further movement in the mortgage market, with some lenders having already factored in the predicted cut with reductions before confirmation of that cut.
One lender has pledged to offer a minimum of 24 hours’ notice of product withdrawals
One issue that continues to be problematic for intermediaries is the withdrawal of products and rates with little notice; increasingly prevalent in recent weeks. This causes unnecessary stress to brokers, who are already incredibly busy. At times, lenders’ own staff are unavailable after standard hours to put cases through, when rates are to be pulled late at night.
As has been pointed out by advisers, should little notice be given it can impact relationships with clients, who may not understand why they have to rush through an application or why their original deal is no longer available. Lenders are asked to give as much notice as possible and to have a team on hand to put through cases right up to the deadline.
One lender that has pledged to offer a minimum of 24 hours’ notice of product withdrawals is Santander, which is looking to work more closely with the intermediary market under new head of homes David Morris. It also made promises to avoid dual pricing and improve its product transfer offering.
In this month’s mag, former deputy editor Sam Barker is back on a freelance basis for our front cover, asking why the UK has not yet adapted to longer-term mortgages.
Meanwhile, I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Robert Sinclair, who is set to retire from Ami at the end of February. He has had a fascinating career and truly made a mark on the sector.
Finally, don’t forget to book your place at the industry’s biggest and best night of the year, the Mortgage Strategy Awards, taking place on 21 May, before it sells out!
This article featured in the February 2025 edition of Mortgage Strategy.
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