The news from the FCA that 370,000 mortgage borrowers are currently able to save money by switching their deals and yet currently chose not to, should be a huge shot in the arm for advisory firms right up and down the country.

With 2022 touted as the year of the remortgage, a variety of factors are likely to dampen down ongoing purchase activity so that 370K pool – plus those borrowers who want/need to remortgage right now – should be in the marketing sights of every single adviser.

We tend to forget that, even though as consumers we have developed a much more aggressive ‘shopping around’ mentality for financial products, a huge group of people still think its best to stay put on their existing mortgage, even when its likely to be rising with every single bank base rate rise.

Progress has of course been made. In 2016 the FCA said there were 800k borrowers in the same position and with intermediaries taking the lion’s share of remortgage and PT business, that is a huge step forward for the advice sector, but there is clearly still a big pool of business to be fishing in, plus at this point in time the likelihood of more regular contact/business has grown.

What is interesting here is that there’s a strong possibility that remortgage clients serviced in 2022 could well be open to a much shorter-term product right now than they would have been seeking in the immediate period after rates started to rise.

Whereas in the early part of the year I suspect advisers were recommending five-year fixes in their droves, now you might question whether the longer-term products offer the best value.

We’re all acutely aware that base rate is likely to rise further in order to try and bring inflation down, but that there is also a sizeable disconnect right now between these product rates and BBR.

Next year – especially if there is a drop-off in activity as anticipated and hopefully as lenders get on top of their service issues – we should see an improved appetite for business and a more competitive range of price points for mortgages. With this moving into 2024 as well.

Therefore, a two-year remortgage deal looks increasingly attractive rather than longer fixed-rates which are currently being priced at a premium. This is certainly a major shift from, for example the October/November 2021 period and should help advisers with a greater level of remortgage business over these two-year periods.

And, as we know, servicing remortgage clients more regularly is often in the best interest of them and the advisory firm, who get to connect and communicate more frequently and are able to help them keep on top of changing needs, whether that is mortgage and finance, protection or general insurance, plus of course the conveyancing requirements that will accompany each and every remortgage, especially when you take ‘free legals’ off the table.

With this data, the FCA have effectively provided all advisers with a marketing message that should be spread far and wide. Make the most of it, and all the product and service opportunities that remortgage clients can provide.

Mark Snape is chief executive of Broker Conveyancing