Legal & General has revealed that users of its SmartrFit platform completed more total affordability searches in January than in October, November, or December, reflecting the strong health of the mortgage market.
Likewise, searches for all criteria embedded into SmartrFit also rose in January, indicating a rise in wider demand.
More searches were made on behalf of buyers with visas, than for any other criteria, showing the important role advisers play to support international buyers. ‘Visa’ has been the most used search term since 1st October 2022 and has consistently ranked in the top two since this time last year (January 2022 to January 2023).
Professional landlords and first-time buyers
SmartrFit data indicates that searches on behalf of portfolio landlords grew by 53% in January, while ‘Joint borrower sole proprietor’ slipped from the third to fourth most used search term. Applications using gifted deposits also remained popular, as searches for this search term similarly grew by 53%.
Government supporting large number of buyers
Searches for applicants using the Forces Help to Buy scheme rose by 300% in January, coinciding with the Government’s confirmation of the scheme as permanent on 19th December. Similarly, searches for buyers using the First Homes scheme and those using Shared Ownership options rose by 100% and 108% in the same period. Searches for applicants purchasing Discounted Market Sale properties also rose by 84%.
Financial difficulty remains widespread
Additionally, January data reinforced that financial difficulty remains a pressing issue. Searches for applicants with an Arrangement to Pay rose by 85%, while those for applicants with unsecured arrears increased by 103%. Searches on behalf of applicants with unsatisfied defaults, debt management plans, and second jobs each grew by 140%, 165%, and 77%.
Jodie White, Head of Mortgage Products & Transformation, Legal & General Technology:“The total volume of adviser searches reaching its highest level since September is testament to the resilience of our industry and hard work of our talented professionals who keep the wheels turning. However, when you start to dissect the searches it soon becomes clear that while some pockets of demand, such as portfolio landlords, remain extremely strong, others (particularly those suffering financial difficulty) are faring much worse.
“Advisers are tasked with supporting the varied needs and circumstances of these customers as comprehensively and efficiently as possible. The more that our industry can digitise the mortgage journey, the more we will streamline operations, benefitting all parties. Eliminating re-keying, confirming our shift away from paper-based processes, and further embracing exciting technologies like Open Banking are just some of the ways that we can help advisers to support customers as efficiently as possible during another busy and complex year.”
