The Intermediary – July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 62
SPECIALIST FINANCE
Opinion
Complexity makes
brokers even
more valuable
I
n a recovering mortgage
market, it can be tempting to
focus only on rates, products
and volumes. But the real
story of 2026 is advice.
Clients are not simply
asking: “What is the cheapest rate?”
They are asking whether they should
move, remortgage, restructure
debt, retain property, invest, release
capital, support family members, buy
through a limited company, refinance
a portfolio or use short-term finance to
solve a timing issue.
Those are not product questions.
They are triggers to understand what
the customer needs.
The wider market data shows
why this maers. Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) and Bank of England
(BoE) figures for Q1 2026 showed gross
mortgage advances fell to £69.6bn,
down 12.3% on the previous quarter
and 10.2% lower than a year earlier.
Yet new mortgage commitments rose
to £78bn, up 11.5% on the previous
quarter and 14.2% higher year-onyear. This points to a market that
is active, but not straightforward.
Clients are engaging, but timing,
affordability and confidence
remain delicate.
Forecasts also suggest recovery
rather than boom. UK Finance has
forecast gross mortgage lending
of £300bn in 2026, while the
Intermediary Mortgage Lenders
Association (IMLA) has projected
£320bn in 2026 and £350bn in 2027.
That is encouraging, but it does not
remove complexity. If anything, as
activity improves, the need for quality
advice increases.
Borrowers are facing a different
landscape from the one many became
used to before 2022. Affordability is
tighter, household budgets are under
pressure, property decisions are more
60
The Intermediary | July 2026
emotional and lender criteria remain
highly varied. Many clients will not fit
neatly into automated or mainstream
lending routes.
That is where intermediaries prove
their worth.
A good broker does far more than
source a rate. They interpret the
client’s circumstances, identify
risk, explain options, challenge
assumptions and guide the borrower
through the consequences of each
decision. They understand when a
mainstream lender is right, when
a specialist lender is needed and
when the client should pause rather
than proceed.
Careful thought
This is particularly important
in specialist finance. Bridging,
commercial, complex buy-to-let
(BTL), adverse credit, self-employed
income, later life borrowing and
portfolio lending all require careful
thought. The right answer is not
always the quickest answer. Nor is
it always the lender with the lowest
headline price.
Intermediary advice also protects
clients from making decisions in
isolation. A client may think they
need a remortgage, when a second
charge, product transfer, bridging
loan, further advance or commercial
refinance could be more suitable. A
landlord may focus on rate, when
structure, tax position, rental yield
and future strategy maer more.
A business owner may need capital
quickly, but still require a credible
repayment route. The broker’s role is
to create clarity.
There is also an important
industry point here. The mortgage
market is increasingly shaped by
technology, automation and directto-consumer journeys. These can
JASON BERRY
is group sales director
at Crystal Specialist Finance
improve efficiency, but they cannot
replace human judgement in complex
circumstances. Technology can help
process information. Advice helps
interpret it.
For lenders and distributors, this
means broker education remains
essential. Product innovation only
works if intermediaries understand
when and how to use it. Criteria
changes only maer if brokers can
translate them into beer client
outcomes. Specialist lending only
grows sustainably if advice standards
remain high.
July is a good moment for the
industry to remind itself of this. The
market is improving, but it remains
uneven. Clients are more informed
in some ways, but more uncertain in
others. Choice has increased, but so
has the risk of confusion.
That makes the intermediary more
important, not less. The strongest
brokers in 2026 will be those who
combine technical knowledge with
empathy, commercial awareness
and curiosity. They will not just ask
what the client wants to borrow.
They will ask why, what could go
wrong, what the exit looks like and
whether the solution still makes sense
beyond completion.
In a simple market, products can
lead. In a complex market, advice
must lead. ●
