Knowledge Bank’s monthly criteria index revealed a host of changes in broker’s top five criteria searches, pointing to tighter household budgets, as they try to place client’s cases with lenders.
In the residential category, brokers searching for lenders who accept ‘late or missed payments’ was the second most popular search, while the ‘interest-only’ searches were in third place, back in the top five after a month’s absence.
The search engine firm says: “The popularity of these two searches suggests that the tightening of household budgets is continuing, and standard residential borrowers’ circumstances are changing and not for the better.”
Searches in the equity release category after a clean sweep of changes last month were more settled in April, although the search for the ‘remaining term of a leasehold’ and ‘early repayment fees’ both rose in popularity during the month to second and third spots, respectively.
The firm points out: “This suggests that we are still in a period of financial uncertainty and borrowers are mindful of any penalties should rates fall and they wish to switch away from their current deal.”
In the self-build sector, ‘non-standard construction’ entered to top five searches in third place, which suggests “innovation in building materials used for new properties”, while in fourth place were brokers looking for self-build lenders who will ‘lend in Scotland’.
The business says other changes of note come in the bridging sector, with searches for lenders accepting ‘commercial property’ entering the top five for the first time since January, in fifth spot — and in commercial product sourcing, brokers searching for ‘mixed-use properties’, was the third most popular search, in the top five for the first time in four months.
Knowledge Bank chief executive Nicola Firth says: “One of the consequences of a volatile financial landscape is that household circumstances change as borrowers are hit with cost-of-living increases and perhaps savings begin to run out.
“As a result, they are approaching brokers with more complex needs and relying on them to find a lender who will accept them as a borrower.
“During the first quarter of 2023, there were over 280,000 searches on Knowledge Bank and so the role of the mortgage broker has never been more important.”
