He said: “In our view, alternatives should be considered moving forward, to give the industry the clarity it needs to continue business as usual.”

Seal went on to outline that within the specialist market, indications are that activity remains strong with no reduction in consumer demand.

He said this is being driven by the continued need for support from specialist lenders as government measures put in place to ease the impact of the pandemic fall away and customers emerge from the pandemic.

He added: “At Bluestone, we believe the growth of the specialist lending market is only set to accelerate given the changing credit profiles of customers affected by COVID-19 who are unable to secure a mortgage with a mainstream lender.

“In recent months, we have also seen rate wars start, not just in the specialist market, but the mainstream market too, as lenders fight for market share in a competitive environment.”

Despite various short-term support to stimulate the housing market, Seal said there is a continued lack of stock and high demand for properties.

He said: “To solve this, a long-term strategy is needed. Not only to encourage more people to move home and free up property further down the ladder, but to support buyers looking to take their first steps once the Help-to-Buy scheme comes to an end.”