The Intermediary – October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 5
From the editor. . .
arrived in the mortgage market in
2020. It was a time of daily Government
announcements, weekly reports
into the stalling – and later, at least
stammering – housing and mortgage
sector, and monthly instances of
this very editor’s comment expounding all
the different ways our market – and the
consumers and investors it serves – was being
absolutely baered.
That feels like a long time ago, and much has
changed in the intervening years. The market
– all the way from first-time buyers to landlord
investors, from developers to equity releasers
– has proven remarkably resilient.The UK
continues to prove that whatever happens, bricks
and mortar is still where it’s at.
Nevertheless, looking back, it feels like I could
count on one hand how many times I’ve had
recourse to say we’re on an upswing. Even in
its most modest terms – a slowing of the rise in
inflation, a few consecutive holds on the Base
Rate – positivity feels hard to come by.
I’m afraid this point isn’t leading to a big
reveal, where I celebrate the housing market
being finally fixed, the economy patched and a
glowing horizon beckoning.
Moneyfacts reports that the average 5-year
fixed rate has reached 6%. The number of fixedrate products below 5% dropped from 1,494 at the
beginning of September… to nine. The market
has spent years waiting for cheaper borrowing
to return, banking on it being just around the
I
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corner, watching the base rate with bated breath,
only to be disappointed again. It is now dawning
on borrowers that the Bank of England is not the
whole story. Inflation, swaps and international
instability are dictating the direction of mortgage
pricing, and it’s not looking good.
Lenders have also, according to the BoE,
reduced the availability of secured credit for the
first time in three years. Just as borrowers need
greater flexibility, lenders have had to become
more cautious.
There are many between our pages who talk
about accessibility and affordability, but these
trends make me wonder whether the industry
can sustain its efforts to adapt to the modern
needs of borrowers, or whether something has
got to give. In an environment where exits are
uncertain, employment is suffering, and the
cost-of-living continues to pinch, the ability to
borrow is always going to be the one that takes
the hit. That is also simply how it has to be to
avoid disaster – continue lending with abandon
during a time of financial insecurity, and surely
that way downturn lies.
While caution is the name of the game,
it’s not all doom and gloom. This month we
look with optimism at a connected homebuying
future, the possible impact of the Your First
Home Scheme, and how second charge is the
not-so-secret weapon in the fight against rising
living costs. ●
Jessica Bird
@IntermediaryUK
Contributors
The Team
www.facebook.com/IntermediaryUK
OPINION ⬛ Expert insight
across residential, buy-to-let,
specialist, later life and more
INTERVIEW ⬛ Finova CEO
on the dream and reality of a
connected mortgage journey
RAPID REACTION ⬛ Industry
weighs in on the launch of the
Your First Home scheme
The
Intermediary.
www.theintermediary.co.uk | Issue 45 | October 2026 | £6
Jessica Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor
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THE BELT TIGHTENS
Second charge and the cost-of-living conversation
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