The Intermediary – September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 105
Slow but steady
ADAM GREEN
mortgage and protection specialist
at Alegra Mortgage & Protection (part of Just Mortgages)
JESSICA O’CONNOR
is deputy editor
at The Intermediary
rates could encourage more buyers
to act. He adds: “If interest rates can
steady slightly, I think there will be
a release of the pent-up demand as
buyers push to be in by Christmas.”
Paul Penman, senior mortgage and
protection advisor at Echo Finance,
has seen a similar slowdown, noting
that properties are generally taking
longer to sell and homeowners looking
to move area or trade up are waiting
longer to secure proceedable buyers.
He says: “Enquiries for mortgage
advice have remained fairly buoyant,
but many prospective buyers are still
at the research stage. They’re looking
to understand how much they can
borrow, and importantly, whether
the resulting monthly payments fit
comfortably within their budget,
before commiing to a move.”
Daniel Cooper, director at
Clearpath Mortgages and Protection →
uch like the rest of the UK at the moment, the end of July
and August have been slow. Summer holidays and concerns
around the market have been impactful to a degree. But
there is still a good level of buyers for correctly priced
properties. Demand has been slightly stronger since the first week in
September, though. If interest rates can steady slightly, I think there
will be a release of the pent-up demand as buyers push to be in
by Christmas.
Appetite has been slow but steady. More people are looking, but
generally feel they can’t get mortgages, so they hold off. A large part of
our advice focuses on education, ensuring that clients know not only
where they are now but also, what can be done over the coming weeks,
months and years to put them in the best position moving forward.
We are seeing more buyers with complicated backgrounds – varying
income types including commissions, bonuses, benefits, and varying
employment types, deposit sizes, and credit situations.
In my opinion, it’s a buyers’ market. Lower viewing numbers means
there is less competition. is means you stand a better chance of
getting a good deal on a property. More sensible offers mean that,
though the interest rates are up a little compared to earlier in the year,
the difference is negligible.
However, deposits are the biggest challenge for buyers. e higher the
deposit, the lower the rate when you hit different brackets, but with so
many new lower deposit schemes available, it is worth checking out
mortgage affordability early doors. Buyers can’t have a target if they
don’t know where to start aiming.
My main piece of advice hasn’t really changed in the 25 years I have
been advising on mortgages. It is important that buyers speak to a good
adviser who has the right level of access to products. As advisers, we can
make homeownership a reality, not just a dream.
→
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September 2026 | The Intermediary
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