While nobody might believe it has been all plain sailing for the UK housing and mortgage markets since the start of the easing of lockdown in mid-May, there has seemed to be a steady stream of positive news since that announcement was made.

Both mainstream and specialist lenders alike appeared to have been pushing back towards some kind of pre-COVID-19 normality, certainly in terms of product options returning, and in a number of ways the market might have been surprising some in terms of its ‘bouncebackability’.

However, we have continued to warn that obstacles were always likely to surface and that all stakeholders need to be able to adapt quickly and flexibly in the face of those appearing sharply.

The recent drop-off in 90 per cent LTV mortgage product options is one such ‘bump in the road’ – and perhaps a sign that this route we will all travel is not going to be as simple as moving from destination A to destination B. There are likely to be some stops along the way and potentially some reversing to do as well.

It is of course difficult to pre-empt where these issues might appear next – certainly a week or two ago, the direction of travel appeared to be one-way. Lenders, who have an appetite to lend, slowly moving up the ‘risk curve’ and increasing product options at all LTV levels, whilst introducing positive criteria changes.

Demand is clearly strong in that high LTV space, but lenders are also cautious especially in an environment where the true value of property remains unknown, and where we can’t quite see what house prices are going to do next.

This retreat from high LTV lending may well scupper the next phase of the market’s push forward – it will certainly dampen the market in some key areas, perhaps most notably for first-time buyers.

What it does do though is highlight the ongoing difficulties that exist in the mortgage market, and it perhaps stresses that finding solutions for all types of clients is not going to be the same as it was at the start of the year.

It may also stress the need to ensure, where possible, all client needs are covered by you, the adviser, whether that is GI or protection or conveyancing, in order to maximise income generation from individual clients. The mortgage isn’t the only client need and there is perhaps no better time to ensure they know you are the one who can service all the others.

Mark Snape is managing director of Broker Conveyancing