The number of women applying for specialist mortgages in their sole name has soared by 38% between October and March 2021 compared to the same period the previous year, according to Bluestone Mortgages.
The lender says the rise in female borrowers with complex circumstances reflects the fact that women have been disproportionately affected by the Covid crisis, whether that is through furlough, income reduction or redundancy.
Bluestone also saw a 37% rise in joint female applicants over the same six-month period.
This suggests that a growing number of women are experiencing financial complications due to the pandemic, either due to impaired credit or employment, which could be excluding them from the mainstream mortgage market.
Female-dominated industries such as hospitality and tourism have been among those hardest hit by lockdowns.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that women are more likely than men to have been furloughed during and female unemployment rose by 174,000 between March and December 2020. Bluestone expects these trends to continue over the long-term, leaving a greater number of women in a precarious financial position and shut out of the mainstream market.
Bluestone Mortgages managing director Steve Seal says, comments: “The impact of the coronavirus crisis was felt particularly by women, with this group more likely to have faced furlough, unemployment and financial hardship over the last year.
“These factors have the potential to significantly impact an individual’s credit score which could, in turn, mean that they are unable to access mainstream lending.
“Today’s figures highlight this fact, and we foresee this reality lasting for some time as women navigate the fallout of the crisis and look at alternative ways of securing financing.
“This signals a major opportunity for the complex credit lending market to evolve and develop, and lenders and advisers in this industry must work together to capitalise on the growth in demand that is expected from female borrowers over the coming years.
“Ultimately, lenders and advisers serving the complex credit lending market will need to support a growing cohort of underserved borrowers over the long-term, so now is the time to prepare accordingly.”
