The Intermediary – July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 94
L O C A L FO C U S
Bedford
local market. He notes: “I cover
the whole of the UK, but if we are
looking specifically at Bedford and
surrounding areas, the demographic
has traditionally been first-time
buyers and growing families looking
for more space.”
Over the past year, however, he has
“seen a noticeable shi toward selfemployed applicants and contractors.”
Spreadbury echoes this view, as she
notes the town continues to appeal to
a wide variety of buyers. She explains:
“Bedford aracts a broad customer
base, and we see a varied range across
different areas.”
While her firm supports everyone
from commuting professionals and
landlords to self-employed borrowers
and home movers, she says that “a
majority of our purchases are made up
of first-time buyers.”
According to Spreadbury,
these clients oen require more
detailed guidance around deposits,
affordability and purchasing costs,
with gied deposits and more complex
income arrangements becoming
increasingly common.
Popular lenders
When it comes to lender selection,
advisers in Bedford stress that
suitability is driven by individual
circumstances rather than loyalty to a
particular provider.
Spreadbury says her firm works
with more than 100 lenders, ranging
from household names to niche
providers. She explains: “Household
names such as Halifax, Nationwide,
NatWest, Santander, Barclays and
HSBC will be familiar to buyers in
Bedford. However, I would be cautious
about describing any single provider
as ‘the Bedford lender’ without reliable
local market-share data.”
Instead, she says, lender choice is
dictated by the individual case:“The
decision depends on the applicant’s
income, deposit, credit profile,
age, preferred mortgage term and
the property being purchased. Two
lenders can assess exactly the same
customer very differently.”
Dhoffer adds: “For mainstream
residential in the region, core high
street giants like Halifax, Nationwide
and NatWest remain heavily
established and dominant.”
However, Bedford’s diverse
workforce means specialist lenders
are becoming increasingly important.
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The Intermediary | July 2026
Dhoffer notes: “Because Bedford
has a diverse workforce, including
a high volume of self-employed
professionals, contractors, adverse
credit customers, and complex income
structures, specialist non-high street
lenders are increasingly essential
for servicing clients who don’t fit the
standard high-street box.”
Dean is also seeing greater demand
for specialist lending solutions. He
says: “As a whole-of-market mortgage
firm able to help anyone looking
to buy in the UK, the high street
lenders remain dominant locally,
though pricing competitiveness varies
noticeably between them at present.”
At the same time, Dean adds that the
increase in adverse credit cases means
“we’re placing more business with
specialist and non-high-street lenders,
which makes access to the whole of the
market more important than ever.”
New developments
New-build homes continue to
command a significant premium
in Bedford, with newly constructed
properties averaging £504,000
compared with £337,000 for
established homes. However, for local
advisers, the biggest influence on the
town’s future housing market is not
current pricing, but the long-term
impact of the forthcoming Universal
United Kingdom Resort, set to be built
in the Kempston Hardwick area, just
south of Bedford town centre.
As Dhoffer puts it: “This is the single
biggest talking point in the region
right now. The official approval [...] is
an absolute gamechanger.”
He believes the project is already
reshaping expectations for the local
market, explaining: “With the Special
Development Order in force and
major infrastructure work moving
ahead, it’s completely reshaping local
property projections.”
Alongside an estimated 20,000
construction jobs and 8,000
permanent roles, Dhoffer points to
major transport upgrades, including
station and improvements to the A421,
adding that “areas like Stewartby,
Kempston, Wixams, and Wooon
Showing resilience
PAUL DEAN
director and principal adviser at PD Finance
he Bedford market has remained relatively resilient. Naturally,
we haven’t been immune, like every UK region to the volatility
triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. Since fighting
escalated at the end of February, swap rates have surged and
lenders have repriced sharply.
Despite the uncertainty in the housing market, particularly through
the second quarter of this year, first-time buyer demand has remained
strong and broadly in line with last year. Where we have seen a clear
increase is in remortgage activity, with many clients coming off the sub2% 5-year fixed rates they secured back in 2021.
Since the start of the year, the FCA has been signalling greater
flexibility around mortgage affordability assessments, including a
reminder to lenders in early 2025 about existing flexibility in interest
rate stress testing, and a fresh consultation launched in June 2026 aimed
specifically at supporting first-time buyers and underserved borrowers.
While this has expanded first-time buyers theoretical borrowing power,
in our experience it’s rare for them to purchase at their absolute
affordability limit. Instead, they use that ceiling as a guide.
Bedfordshire’s relatively competitive price point compared with more
expensive commuter regions continues to be a key draw. at said,
2026 has brought a noticeable shi¢: a growing number of home movers
and remortgage clients locally are looking to raise additional funds,
either to strengthen an existing buy-to-let portfolio or to invest in the
area for the first time.
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