The affordability gap, where no lender is able to meet the loan amount requested by a broker, remained at 16% in September, according to the latest MBT Affordability Index.

This continues the lowest recorded level for the affordability gap and Mortgage Broker Tools says this means there is a greater likelihood that brokers will be able to source a lender to meet the loan requirements of their clients than there was earlier in the year.

According to data analysis by MBT Affordability, the affordability gap peaked in February, when there were no lenders able to meet the loan amount requested by a broker on 21% of cases.

However, while the affordability gap in September remained consistent with August for first-time buyers and remortgage customers, it did increase for home movers. In August the affordability gap for home movers was 15% and this went up to 18% in September, indicating a growing number of lenders who were unable to meet the loan requested by the client.

Tanya Toumadj (pictured), CEO at Mortgage Broker Tools, said: “The affordability gap shows brokers how likely it is that they will be able to source a lender with the ability to meet the loan requirements of their client, so it’s good news that this has remained low in September.

“The only area where the affordability gap grew was for home movers, and this shows the impact of increased asking prices for property on client expectations. However, even in this segment, the gap was still lower than earlier in the year.

“So, brokers know that there are lenders able to meet the affordability requirements for their clients. The next step is finding them. Brokers who only work with a small number of lenders are much less likely to identify the best one, particularly in the current market where affordability calculators are changing frequently. Which is why a platform like MBT Affordability is such an invaluable tool in helping brokers to identify the lenders that will be most able to help their clients meet their objectives.”