The return of surveyors and valuers – on the back of the government’s guidance on moving home during the Covid-19 crisis provided by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick – is highly positive news. This announcement has served to generate many headlines and social media posts around the ‘reopening’ of the housing and mortgage markets.

However, it’s prudent to maintain some degree of perspective here. After all, despite some sentiment suggesting otherwise, a variety of property-related transactions have still completed during the lockdown period. Inevitably, numbers are a shadow of those expected over the ‘usual’ Spring and early Summer period but to suggest that the mortgage market completely shut down and has been fully resurrected are a little misleading.

And the big question remains – where do we go from here?

In response to this news, there was a reported 70 per cent surge in property hunters messaging estate agents via the Rightmove website. Again, we have to maintain a balanced approach when evaluating such data.

Whilst we shouldn’t underplay how encouraging this is, and advisers are likely to see an initial flood of enquiries, this doesn’t mean that an immediate return to ‘normal’ pre-crisis conditions is imminent. There will be a transitional period where, as outlined in the guidance: ‘People are free to move home, however the process of finding and moving into a new home is likely to be different, as those involved in the process will need to adapt practices and procedures to ensure that the risk of spread of coronavirus is reduced as far as possible. It is vital that everyone stays alert and safe.’

This spark of life has also prompted BTL lenders who were sitting patiently on the sidelines to dip their toes in the water. We’ve seen Foundation Home Loans announce that it has resumed new lending following the return of its valuation partners to the market. Fleet Mortgages has recommenced physical valuations for its pipeline business and we’ve also welcomed back Bluestone Mortgages, who are now open for new applications on the Clear product range up to 75 per cnet LTV.

These, alongside the vast majority of BTL lenders, have been working hard behind the scenes to generate product ranges and solutions which can be serviced by support staff in the right manner. In the meantime, other providers have introduced AVMs and desktop valuations over the past few weeks to progress certain BTL cases.

However, it’s fair to say that even the most tech-savvy specialist lenders will have taken a collective sigh of relief around the reintroduction of physical valuations, as these remain integral for the majority of BTL cases.

Patience and planning have been key components in navigating these testing times, and lenders are now in a much better position to step out of the shadows and get to grips with changes to pricing, ICR and fee structure given the increased cost of credit. Such lenders will also be looking to work even closer than ever with adviser, distributor, and packager partners to control volumes and ensure the right types of cases are submitted that can be fully processed from application through to completion.

The next few months will be vital for the whole mortgage market and I believe that flexible and innovative specialist lenders will lead the way.