Sourcing systems have long been a vital cog in the mortgage market and have consistently proved to be one of the most vital tools for any mortgage intermediary. Such systems have evolved to provide advisers with a host of additional support services and access to a range of data beyond the realms of the residential market.
The importance attached to data, and the recognising of trends, is always magnified in times of uncertainty and – let’s be honest – there have been few more uncertain times than we’ve experienced over the past six months. Not only have sourcing systems been integral in keeping intermediaries up to date on the raft of product changes during this period, but they are also doing a great job of keeping us informed on trends and activity across a variety of sectors.
The latest data from Mortgage Brain for July saw more European Standardised Information Sheets generated through its sourcing systems than any other month so far in 2020. Per working day, the ESIS numbers for July were said to be slightly below the peak seen in February but, taken as a whole, July was reported to have been the most productive month of the year to date. The increase in ESIS has been driven by strong demand from purchasers, with residential purchase ESIS having been around 10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels for six consecutive weeks.
When it comes to buy-to-let, purchase ESIS are said to have been around 7 per cent above the average volumes seen before Covid-19 for nine weeks in a row.
Staying with the BTL sector, additional data from a Twenty7Tec supply and demand in the mortgage market report for July 2020 highlighted that the number of searches for BTL mortgages has increased steadily over the past three months. May saw search figures of 142,064, June 211,465 with a July figure 234,077.
The figures also showed that only one day was reported to have dipped below 10,000 BTL ESIS documents generated, which occurred on the 1 July. Prior to July, Twenty7Tec had not seen a figure above 10,000 documents per day at any stage.
It’s important to note that whilst most days in July were suggested to be among the busiest this year for BTL searches, at the end of July, the seven-day rolling average dropped back to beginning of the month levels. As highlighted in the report, it will be interesting to see if this BTL drop off is a trend or an anomaly. Was it a blip after the PM’s tightening of rules nationwide or a precursor to what we can expect in the coming months?
This remains to be seen, but what we do know is that the BTL sector has a long history of being highly adept at coping with a string of ups and downs, and we are currently in a good place to face any imminent challenges.
Optimism is high amongst many landlords and opportunities will continue to present themselves throughout the market. And hopefully this will be reflected in the data which emerges from a variety of sources over the course of the next few days, weeks and months.
Ying Tan, founder and chief executive, Dynamo
