Here we are again friends, colleagues, countrymen and partners in this crazy mortgage world we call home.

No sooner had the chancellor Rishi Sunak commended his Spring 2021 Budget to the House, in fact before he even sat down, property websites were heating up. The countries love affair with property shows no sign of abating any time soon.

So great was our demand for ‘property porn’ in fact, that the property portal Rightmove reported its busiest day in the 20 years since it was founded, recording some nine million visits. The story from estate agents across the country in terms of website views mirrored this.

Likewise, the sight of new ‘For Sale’ boards glinting in the Spring sunlight were seen on many streets.

It was then that mortgage brokers phones across the land started to ring with requests for 95 per cent loan-to-value mortgages, not just on first homes, but on everything from holiday homes to buy to lets and questions around rates on products that didn’t even exist yet.

At the time of writing, we still do not know what rates will look like under the scheme, but with the new crop of 95 per cent LTV rates at around the 4 per cent level this is a good guide. Whether the government guarantee means lenders can or want to go cheaper remains to be seen.

People forget that the government guarantee for lenders comes at a price which has to be reflected in the price to the consumer.

Well done however to those lenders, Accord, Bank of Ireland, Skipton, Aldermore and Coventry already out with 95 per cent products.

My only worry is access to these products for most consumers. Even at 90 per cent LTV we are seeing some evidence that you can only pass the enhanced credit score if you have auburn hair, green eyes, are 5 ft 9 inch and your middle name is Ophelia. That’s a slight exaggeration, but you get the point.

Last week the latest data from the Bank of England showed that net mortgage borrowing was at its highest level since March 2016.

It is no surprise net mortgage borrowing hit a five-year high in February, as a large number of stamp duty holiday-fuelled transactions that started last year completed in advance of the deadline.

Though up on the same month last year, mortgage approvals were understandably lower than the November high as a lot of people, by February, felt they had missed the stamp duty deadline.

There is still a lot of activity in the market at present, and lenders, though still more cautious than they were pre-Covid, have released a lot more products in recent weeks.

Figures from HMRC showed that residential transactions completed in February 2021 in the UK numbered just over 147,000; a whopping 48.5 per cent increase when compared to February 2020 when we were enjoying the Boris bounce, blissfully unaware of what would happen next.

This makes it the busiest February since 2007 and not far off the busiest month on record in March 2016, when there were 176,570 residential completions, primarily caused by the changes to BTL at that time.

So, everyone is busy and everyone needs a break, but where and when to have it is the issue.

This current market looks like it will continue throughout the next few months and an interesting comment made me think the other day: “are businesses now starting to make plans based on the productivity levels now, which may be unrealistic going forward?”

Do things start to change once the pubs are open, we can socialise, commute, rush to go on holiday and a more normal life emerges? Right now, we are all at home working every hour, but will this change? Food for thought…

I think we as an industry always deal with these ebbs and flows, and even though this is more of a tidal wave we will get there.

In fact, as IMLA suggested there are also around 700,000 mortgages set to mature this year which should keep everyone busy. A good number of these will be BTL landlords as five years ago saw the introduction of the additional costs for BTL properties.

I also no longer think the stamp duty deadline is playing a really significant role in all this, it is just good old fashioned consumer demand.

The money markets show that 3-month LIBOR is up a smidge more at 0.09 per cent, whilst their new partner three-month SONIA stays at 0.05 per cent

SWAP rates have also increased by a wafer-thin mint margin.

Since the last column:

• 2-year money is up 0.02 per cent at 0.27 per cent
• 3-year money is up 0.02 per cent at 0.41 per cent
• 5-year money is up 0.02 per cent at 0.64 per cent
• 10-year money is up 0.01 per cent at 0.98 per cent

Criteria-wise, there have been more lenders updating their rules around EU/EEA applicants post-Brexit. Nationwide for example produced a very easy to understand guide to their changes, which is worth checking out. Settled Status is the new term!

Whilst we are on the subject of Nationwide, they have also introduced a new Broker Feedback Forum that “will allow brokers to provide feedback and suggestions to help ensure the Society and TMW can continue to meet their needs and provide the best possible service.”

It was nice to see more lenders cutting rates and especially Barclays and Clydesdale in now offering 90 per cent LTV products starting with a 2 rather than a 3.

I read with interest new guidance from RICS on cladding meaning, amongst other things that no flat blocks without either cladding or vertically stacked balconies containing combustible material should be required to undertake an EWS1 assessment. In addition, all buildings of four storeys or fewer – even if they have cladding and balconies – will also be exempt, unless their cladding consists of the most flammable ACM, MCM of HPL panels.

Whether this actually helps matters in this complex and emotive issue remains to be seen, but I really hope that all lenders and valuers back this and work together to help a new generation of trapped borrowers.

Finally, a big hello – HELLO – and welcome to new lender MQube Mortgages whose funky tech platform looks really exciting.

Until next time, I bid you adieu and may you find time to do what is most enjoyable and important to you and remember to be nice to each other. I salute you.

Hero to Zero 

The lenders back at 95 per cent LTV

Nationwide & TMW for their Broker Forum Feedback

New breed of advisers promoting the importance of protection on social media in a fun way – excellent work

IR35 changes that may pose a risk to some brokers – have a look at the new rules

People constantly saying our industry is broken

MPs who voted to defeat a motion to stop building owners passing on costs for fixing defects to leaseholders – unfair.

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? 

Every so often I read a quote somewhere that basically says our firm/product is here to fix this broken, unfair industry. It’s usually from those who really do not actually have much experience or care about the industry to which they refer.

It’s always to promote their company or product, to get as much money in then sell and get the hell out as quickly as possible. It always grinds my gears.

Yes, there are parts that can work more efficiently, yes tech could and should be used to make things better, but it should always be people powered by technology, the emphasis on people.

Brokers who charge fees are often portrayed as the enemy and that is so wrong.

My view is the market is not broken, it is one of the best run and tightly regulated industries in the UK, with a rich vein of talented, professionally qualified and dedicated advisers passionately working all hours for the benefit of their clients.

Stats show we are trusted, appreciated and our clients come back time and again to receive good advice.

We can all improve, but we are never broken.