Around 1.8 million fixed-rate mortgage deals are due to come to an end in 2026, adding to the 1.6 million mortgages that already matured in 2025.
For many homeowners looking to remortgage, this will mean moving onto higher mortgage repayments and taking stock of finances as they continue to navigate higher living costs and ongoing economic uncertainty.
For advisers, this presents a significant opportunity to demonstrate the value of advice and offers firms a chance to consider whether they are truly delivering advice-led relationships with their clients or simply facilitating mortgage transactions.
Remortgaging isn’t just about finding the best fixed rate product for customers. It’s an opportunity for advisers to assess their clients’ overall financial situation and long-term financial resilience. This includes discussing their current situation, identifying any potential risks and evaluating their protection needs.
There is no denying that over the past few years, product transfers have offered a lifeline to borrowers looking to remortgage. Tough economic conditions and affordability pressures have meant that product transfers have been abundant and competitive, often making them the obvious, and most suitable, choice for the majority of consumers.
However, the sheer volume of product transfers on offer also means they have created a degree of complacency across the market, and with this, the assumption that perhaps securing the best rate for customers is a job well done.
THE REMORTGAGE OPPORTUNITY
But a mortgage review should never just be treated as a simple box-ticking exercise to secure the best competitive rate, instead it should be seen as an opportunity to ask important questions about affordability, future borrowing plans, income resilience, protection arrangements and whether the client’s financial priorities have changed.
For example, would the client cope if their income stopped tomorrow? Do they have plans to start a family? Would their mortgage still be affordable if they suffered an illness or bereavement?
Taking this broader approach not only ensures advisers adequately meet their clients’ needs, but it also ensures they meet the expectations set by Consumer Duty. Delivering good customer outcomes means understanding the whole financial picture, not simply recommending the cheapest deal available.
According to the Bank of England, around 86% of outstanding residential mortgages are currently on fixed rates. As these deals come to an end, many borrowers will find themselves navigating a financial landscape that looks very different to the one they entered two, five or even 10 years ago.
This presents advisers with an opportunity to understand how these customers are managing their household costs and consider whether their personal circumstances may have changed since they took out their previous mortgage. Starting every review as if it’s the first rather than assuming things are the same is crucial to best serving the needs of each client.
There are also commercial benefits to taking this approach. Clients who receive holistic advice are often more engaged, more loyal and more likely to return for future advice. They are also more likely to recognise the value of protection when it’s discussed in the context of safeguarding their mortgage and family, rather than as an add-on product.
This approach also often leads to deeper, long-lasting relationships with clients and helps to create further opportunities for ongoing conversations around borrowing, protection, later life planning and wealth. It can also help to strengthen client retention and encourage referrals, helping firms build a more robust and attractive business model that will be easier to sell in the future.
STRONGER BUSINESS MODEL
Having a strong and diverse business model is becoming even more important as the industry continues to evolve. Recent market changes have seen some lenders reduce the proc fees on product transfers, reducing the income potential for advisers moving clients onto these products.
Similarly, the Financial Conduct Authority’s Mortgage Rule Review is looking at ways to simplify the mortgage process, including broadening consumer access to mortgages. This could give greater scope for lenders to directly engage with borrowers as their current mortgage deals come to an end, placing advisers that focus solely on mortgages under even greater pressure.
Advances in AI are also reshaping the industry. Many clients are using AI-powered technology to better educate themselves about their finances, which means they expect more than just a new and competitive mortgage rate from the advice process.
Waiting for the mortgage deal to come to an end is no longer good enough. Advisers need to make better use of their client data to proactively conduct regular reviews with their clients and identifying potential situations where a conversation around protection, later life lending or wealth planning may be relevant. Not only will this deliver ongoing value to their clients, but it will also strengthen their business model.
In the current economic climate, resting on past success and maintaining a siloed approach to advice is no longer a viable business option. Advisers need to evolve their propositions to harness client data to deliver holistic advice, lending expertise and meaningful protection conversations in order to ensure they strengthen client relationships, improve retention and stay relevant in an ever-changing market.
