Growing demand for faster, more supportive broker service among first-time buyers

First-time buyers are leaning heavily on brokers for speed, reassurance and help navigating affordability pressures, according to Santander’s latest Broker Perception Barometer. Two thirds of borrowers said they could not have gone through the homebuying process without broker support,...

Latest news

Mortgage searches edge higher year-on-year in February

Mortgage search activity eased back from January’s early-year spike in February, but remained ahead of the same month last year, according to the latest...

Precise waives valuation fees on residential loans up to £400k

Precise has introduced free standard valuations on residential properties worth up to £400,000 as it looks to reduce upfront costs for first-time buyers, home...

The Mansfield trims specialist mortgage rates

Mansfield Building Society has cut fixed rates across its Versatility and Credit Repair mortgage ranges, as specialist lenders seek to support brokers navigating a...

Countrywide Surveying Services academy adds to residential surveyor pipeline

Countrywide Surveying Services has reported fresh progress in its training academy after 11 trainees secured AssocRICS qualification at the end of February and further...

Just Wealth posts 63% rise in assets under management as referrals grow

Just Wealth, the financial advice arm of Just Mortgages, said assets under management rose by 63% in 2025 as it benefited from growing demand for broader financial planning and a steady flow of referrals from mortgage brokers. The business...

Middle East conflict clouds mortgage rate outlook and Autumn Budget decisions

Energy market volatility has driven borrowing costs higher in recent weeks, forcing mortgage lenders to adjust pricing while policymakers weigh the potential economic consequences ahead of the autumn Budget. According to Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at...

Clydesdale Bank to raise selected residential and buy-to-let rates

Clydesdale Bank will increase a range of residential and buy-to-let fixed rates from Friday 13 March. The lender said selected residential fixed rates across purchase, remortgage and product transfer deals will rise by up to 0.36%. That includes core residential...

Virgin Money to raise selected mortgage and buy-to-let rates

Virgin Money is increasing a range of residential, remortgage, buy-to-let and product transfer rates from Friday 13 March. The lender said selected purchase fixed rates will rise by up to 0.18%, with two-year deals starting from 4.00%, five-year fixes...

PROFILE

Terry Blackburn on building a community for mortgage brokers

At 19, Terry Blackburn was knocking on doors trying to sell life insurance to strangers. He’d previously worked as a builder and candidly admits...

INDUSTRY COMMENT

Ignorance, not cost, still the biggest barrier to protection sales

During 2024 CIExpert commissioned Opinium to speak to 5,000 consumers – a mix of genders and ages – regarding critical illness (CI) insurance. The aim...

The protection gap that runs all the way up the ladder

The property ladder is usually talked about in terms of deposits, equity, and affordability but recent research reveals a less visible truth; moving up...

Why landlords will continue to play a central role in meeting housing demand

This month’s Spring Statement may not have delivered dramatic housing announcements, but the data released alongside it paints a clear picture about the continued...

Debt awareness is as important for advisers as for clients

Debt Awareness Week, beginning on 16th March, provides a timely opportunity for reflection. The early months of the year have long been associated with...

Market may be overreacting to conflict-driven rate fears

Financial markets could be overreacting in the early days of the conflict as they take a second rate cut off the table this year. The...

The UK’s conveyancing conundrum explained

Why is conveyancing so slow in the UK? The average property transaction now takes between 14 and 20 weeks… and that is not taking...

Q&As

BUY-TO-LET

Rental competition eases as demand falls

Competition for rental homes has fallen to its lowest level in six years as...

Mortgage debt hits record £1.73trn as high-LTV lending rises

The total value of outstanding UK residential mortgage lending reached a record level in...

Alps launches enhanced landlord protection product ahead of Renters’ Rights Act reforms

Alps has introduced an updated Landlord Legal Expenses and Rent Protection product designed to...

Fleet Mortgages brings back 75% LTV fixed-rate options

Fleet Mortgages has relaunched a range of 75% LTV fixed-rate products across its core...

Regional rental trends diverge as affordability pressures persist

Rental price movements across the UK showed a mixed pattern in February, with regional...

Chetwood Bank appoints Darren Hodgson as BDM for the South

Chetwood Bank has appointed Darren Hodgson as business development manager covering the South of...

Fleet Mortgages loosens buy-to-let criteria

Fleet Mortgages has introduced a series of criteria changes across its buy-to-let range aimed...

West One launches broker criteria search tool

Specialist lender West One has introduced a new criteria search tool on its website...

MORTGAGE MINGLE PODCAST

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

FIRST-TIME BUYERS

Average deposit now exceeds annual salary in most British housing markets

Homebuyers in more than six in 10 housing markets across Great Britain now need to save a deposit larger than the average annual salary, according to new analysis from estate agency network eXp UK. The research shows that in 62% of Britain’s housing markets, the...

Prenups move into the mainstream as younger couples seek financial clarity

Prenuptial agreements — long associated with celebrities and high net worth families — are...

Santander’s higher LTV cuts see 98% first-time buyer deal below 5%

Santander UK will lower the rate on its recently launched My First Mortgage to...

Mortgage lending jumps 16% in 2025

Mortgage lending climbed 16% in 2025 to its highest level since the pandemic as...

UK house prices steady as first-time buyers return

UK house prices edged higher in February as improving affordability and a rebound in...

OPINION

The silent majority: what most financial services customers never tell you

If you work in financial services, you probably have a good handle on formal complaints. You know how many you get, how quickly they’re...

Building momentum is back, but flexible funding will be key to delivery

There are growing signs that development activity across England is beginning to gather momentum...

ANALYSIS: Swaps surge and the market braces for impact

It’s been an interesting week so far. Sadly, we’ve had to cancel our BDM...

The growth is there. Now we must close the gap

The latest UK Finance Later Life Lending Update for Q4 2025 should give every specialist adviser renewed confidence in the scale and resilience of this sector, and the opportunities it is going to continue to provide. In the final quarter of 2025 alone, 41,100 new...

Spring Statement 2026: Standing still on debt as risks mount

Yesterday, the Chancellor delivered her Spring Statement. Given the backdrop of war in the Middle East, clearly the government and the public currently have...

DISTRIBUTION

Technology partners will be key as lenders navigate product volatility

Mortgage lenders are increasingly relying on trusted technology partners to manage product volatility and...

Hope Capital renews Brickflow tie-up as digital distribution gains ground

Hope Capital Property Finance has extended its partnership with broker platform Brickflow as part...

Access FS opens Canary Wharf hub

Mortgage and protection brokerage Access Financial Services has opened a new London office in...

Pivotal Growth founding director David Copland to retire

David Copland, business development director and a founding member of Pivotal Growth, is to...

Brightstar looks to Armed Forces leavers in drive to widen mortgage talent pool

Brightstar Group is piloting a new initiative aimed at bringing Service Leavers and Veterans into the mortgage intermediary market, in partnership with Working in Mortgages. The programme, titled Mortgage Jobs for Heroes, has been developed to encourage Armed Forces personnel leaving service to consider careers...