The proportion of cases where no lender was able to meet the loan amount sought by the borrower shrank from 21 per cent in February to 15 per cent in August, according to Mortgage Broker Tools’ affordability index.

The figures, based on brokers using MBT’s affordability calculator, suggest that home movers were more likely to be disappointed than other categories of borrower in August.

MBT found that 15 per cent of searches for home movers resulted in no lender who was able to provide the required loan size, down from a peak of 22 per cent in February.

For first-time buyers, 12 per cent of searches revealed no lender willing to advance the full amount, halving from a peak of 24 per cent in April and down from 20 per cent in February.

There was little change for remortgage cases, as the proportion of cases where no lender was able to offer the required sum has hovered around the 14 per cent mark all year.

MBT chief executive Tanya Toumadj says: “The affordability gap is an important element of the MBT Affordability Index as it shows brokers the likelihood that they will be able to source a lender with the ability to meet the loan requirements of their client. 

“The larger the affordability gap, the less likely that the market will be able to offer a solution, and vice versa.

“Of course, knowing whether a solution is available in the market and being able to source the right lender are two different things, and brokers who only work with a small number of lenders are less likely to identify the best lender for their clients.”

She adds: “Lenders need to manage their risk portfolio, which means they may have greater appetite for different types of loans at different times, and this will impact how much they are prepared to lend.”