Comment

Housing reform needs a thriving private rental sector, not just a thriving sales and purchase market

One of the most encouraging developments over recent weeks has been the renewed focus...

The economics of developing the next generation of advisers

Over the past couple of decades, I have worked alongside literally thousands of AR...

Is Andy Burnham the New Messiah or just Starmer with better eyebrows?

What a damning indictment of Labour that Andy Burnham appears to be strolling towards...

Approvals hit a 2.5-year low: When broker value gets proven – or missed

Net mortgage approvals dropped to 56,200 in May – the lowest since December 2023...

How will H2 compare to the first six months of the year?

Last week marked the end of the first half of 2026, making it the...

Removing friction from the homebuying journey

One thing I keep hearing from our advisers is how much more work each...

Build, baby, build? Well we will need to fund more than the usual suspects

There was a noticeable sense of optimism at UKREiiF this year. That may sound...

Innovation in the lifetime mortgage market riding high

Innovation in the lifetime mortgage market has created real value for customers – there’s...

How small and medium-sized lenders can fix the origination headache

We are constantly told that to fix the mortgage journey, we need to rip...

New product launches bring renewed competition to protection market

The protection market has seen a flurry of product launches in recent weeks, with...

Political clarity should benefit homebuyers

It’s been another positive week for the mortgage market, with lenders continuing to reduce...

Don’t rein me in

For many years, major financial institutions and large retailers have understood the benefits of...

Stability has value: why the latest Bank Base Rate hold matters

The Bank of England's decision to maintain Bank Base Rate (BBR) at 3.75% may...

If you motivate an idiot you just get stupid things done quicker

There's a lot of excitement about artificial intelligence in the mortgage industry right now....

COMMENT

Harpenden’s expat move could be bigger than the numbers suggest

Harpenden Building Society’s move into expat mortgages this summer has been good news for brokers and borrowers. But I think its importance goes beyond...

We need to wait to get a clearer picture

It's been a week where the political and economic backdrop has moved almost as fast as rates themselves, and it's worth taking stock of...

Leasehold valuation reform: the consultation is asking only half the question

The Government's consultation on leasehold enfranchisement valuation rates is important because it will help determine what leaseholders pay to extend leases or buy freeholds,...

What commonhold will mean for mortgage lenders and brokers

Commonhold is often presented as the straightforward alternative to leasehold. It removes the freeholder, gives flat owners greater control and avoids some familiar problems...

Why you need to know what sits behind the average review score

There’s a funny thing about review scores. The better they are, the less likely we are to question them. If a company is sitting at...

Latest news

Landbay adds 11 tracker products and cuts rates by up to 15bps

Landbay has expanded its buy-to-let tracker range with 11 new products and reduced rates...

Howden expands in North Wales with Wrexham office

Howden has opened its first commercial insurance office in Wrexham as the broker expands...

UK buyers reluctant to compromise despite affordability pressures

UK homebuyers remain committed to purchasing a property but are less willing than buyers...

Keystone trims buy-to-let fixed rates by up to 15bps

Keystone Property Finance has reduced pricing across a number of its buy-to-let mortgage ranges,...

PROFILES