The Intermediary – January 2026 - Flipbook - Page 6
From the editor. . .
anuary has a habit of arriving
heavy with expectation, ushering
in a proverbial ‘clean page’ and no
shortage of confident predictions
about what the year ahead will
bring. This year, as many of us are
collectively wrapping up warm to combat Storm
Gorei’s cold snap, the mortgage market itself
looks set for a far more gradual thaw.
The past year did not deliver clarity so much
as consolidation. Rates stabilised, activity levels
found their feet, and sentiment improved in
fits and starts rather than in sweeping turns.
As a result, the industry enters 2026 beer
conditioned than it has been for some time –
more inventive in some places, and far more
realistic about what real progress actually
looks like.
While expectations of further base rate easing
are building following December’s cut, 2026
is unlikely to be defined by dramatic shis in
pricing alone. Indeed, competition among
lenders will remain healthy, but product
design, criteria flexibility and service will
increasingly do the heavy liing where headline
pricing cannot.
Housing supply, of course, remains the most
stubborn subplot. The Government’s ambition
to deliver 1.5 million homes continues to loom
large, but delivery remains some distance behind
rhetoric. As the second year of the parliamentary
term draws to a close, that gap leaves ministers
on increasingly unsteady ground – particularly
against a political backdrop that is becoming
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more fragmented, with Reform looming
menacingly in the background and a reenergised Green Party under Zack Polanski
aracting fresh aention, particularly from
idealistic Gen Zs like me, still harbouring
the hope of owning our first home before the
age of 50.
Against this backdrop, buy-to-let and the
specialist sector are likely to remain important
barometers of market health. This year, the
rental market continues to contend with
regulatory pressure from the newly passed
Renter’s Rights Act, along with issues around
constrained supply, bringing both opportunity
and challenges alike. Specialist finance,
meanwhile, shows lile sign of slowing its
expansion, increasingly stepping in where
mainstream criteria draw firm lines.
All of this makes our January State of the
Nation feature particularly timely, as it cuts
through the noise to assess where the market
genuinely stands as we move into the new
year. Elsewhere in this issue, we explore how
lenders are approaching the 2026 market, the
ever-increasing use of technology, and how
advisers are positioning themselves for a year
where client needs are broader, and oen more
nuanced, than they first appear.
As the year gets underway, one thing is clear:
the market may not be predictable, but it is
moving. Our job, as ever, is to help you make
sense of where it is headed.●
Jessica O’Connor
@IntermediaryUK
Contributors
The Team
www.facebook.com/IntermediaryUK
OPINION Expert insights
across residential, buy-to-let,
specialist finance and more
Q&A LHV Bank discusses
supporting brokers through
the application journey
INTERVIEW Adrian
Moloney talks OSB Group’s
growth and future plans
The
Intermediary.
www.theintermediary.co.uk | Issue 36 | January 2026 | £6
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The Intermediary | January 2026
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Experts share their views on
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