Welcome to the new Trumpian age of mortgages.

I thought I would get into the spirit, like the rest of the world, in true ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ style.

“Folks, let me tell you — the mortgage market, it’s a wild place. Some say it’s the wildest. People are talking, and they’re saying, ‘Donald, what’s going on with rates? What’s happening with the lenders? Is it good? Is it bad?’

And let me tell you, it’s tremendous if you know what you’re doing, and a disaster if you don’t.

Some say it’s complicated, some say it’s confusing. But I understand it better than anyone. Better than the Bank of England. Better than the lenders. And certainly better than those so-called experts who are always wrong, like that Montlake guy — what a joker! He is so dumb, so dumb. Always. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it.

We wouldn’t have any dual pricing online or there would be tariffs!

Now, what’s happening? Rates are up, rates are down — total rollercoaster. It’s crazy, folks. Never seen anything like it. And the brokers? The good ones — smart brokers, maybe the smartest ever, the best ones — they’re out there fighting every day for their clients. Tough, smart, winners. And then you’ve got the other ones… and believe me, not good. Not good at all.

The Bank of England? Weak. Slow. Total disaster. Sitting on their hands, waiting, hoping things get better. No vision, no action. If I were in charge? Interest rates? Boom! Sorted. Housing market? Biggest boom in history! But instead we get hesitation, we get delays, we get losing.

And the lenders? Some of them, fantastic. Love them. Some of them? Not so much. They haven’t been nice to me, not nice at all. Dual pricing, pulling products, changing rates faster than Sleepy Joe changes his mind. Not good for business, folks. People want confidence. They want strong deals. They want MASSIVE success in the mortgage market.

Homebuyers, they want confidence. They want stability. And, let’s be honest, they want great deals, not these weak, tired, outdated mortgage products.

The mortgage market? It’s tough. It’s competitive. But guess what? We love it

We need innovation, we need strength, and we need lenders that actually care about people as well as their profits. If I were running a lender, everyone would borrow from me, no one would love my clients better than me, and we would probably be the most profitable lender ever — we would, easy. None of my borrowers would be forced to eat pets to survive.

I would also use the greatest word in the English language: tariffs. Yes, that’s right, Santander: tariffs. HSBC: tariffs. NatWest: we wouldn’t have any dual pricing online or there would be huge tariffs!

Anyway, here’s the plan: we’re going to MAKE MORTGAGES GREAT AGAIN. Believe me, nobody does it better.”

OK, enough now, Donald. Back in your box.

There are big opportunities. We’re talking about smart moves. And we’re talking about winning. Because, at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about

Anyway, I hope you are all feeling suitably ‘whooped’ and ‘yeehaa’d’ up for this fine new year. It has been an interesting start; maybe not quite what we hoped for, but solid nonetheless.

The backlash to the Budget, which caused some worry as swap rates rose, has abated for the time being and, while there are still many detractors, I do think we need to give this government time to see if it can deliver what it promised. This period was always going to be tricky, but now is the time for positivity, for talking up what we can all achieve as a country, as an economy, and for us, as an industry.

The predicted number of rate cuts this year continues to change, but I still believe we will end the year with Bank base at 4%. By the time you read this it will have already happened but I really hope the Bank of England did make its predicted cut last week. The economy needs the boost and people need to see an easing.

We have the prospect of global trade wars, which makes things uneasy, but it remains to be seen whether the orange one is using these as a threat to get what he wants. As always with Trump, anything and everything is possible.

If I were running a lender, everyone would borrow from me, no one would love my clients better than me, and we would probably be the most profitable lender ever — we would, easy

As for the rolling-back of DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion), as well as disregarding climate change, they are things I hope the UK would be much more grown up about. Both are very much needed.

In the money markets, three-month Sonia has smoothly shimmied down 0.17% to 4.77%, while swaps, after a New Year hangover that was hard to shake, have finally felt the benefits of the Berocca and Pepto-Bismol and come out to play, back where we left them.

Since the previous column:

2-year money is down 0.06% at 4.00%

3-year money is down 0.01% at 3.92%

5-year money is up 0.06% at 3.85% 

10-year money is up 0.16% at 3.92%

Apart from the plethora of rate changes, lenders seem to be coming out to play. For most, I have been enthused by their broker engagement and willingness to discuss and listen. Our ‘special relationship’ is so important and should never be taken for granted on either side.

It was interesting to see a report from Nottingham Building Society where 82% of mortgage brokers said they felt positive about the future of the market despite economic challenges. However, they also said the sector needed more innovation.

It has been an interesting start to the year; maybe not quite what we hoped for, but solid nonetheless

Santander has increased the ERC waiver period for existing homemovers to nine months or less, while NatWest will now accept Experian Open Banking bank statements as part of the packaging requirements.

Halifax has made criteria changes to consider non-UK national applications up to 95% LTV where a customer has permanent rights to reside or more than five years’ residency. It will also permit a concessionary purchase at a discount when the seller is the applicant’s partner or ex-partner who will not live at the property.

The darling Darlington Building Society has made changes to its skilled-worker visa policy, removing the two-year minimum time remaining on visas for applicants looking at 90% LTV deals. Clients considering 95% LTV deals will also not have a minimum income threshold, which was previously £60,000 for sole income or £90,000 for joint income.

In buy-to-let (BTL), Accord has reduced the interest coverage ratio used to assess the affordability of background properties, from 5.5% to 5.0%.

Nottingham Building Society has launched a range of 80% LTV BTL products, and has reduced its minimum age to 21 for BTL, as well as increased the maximum number of properties per customer to five.

But our proverbial hats get thrown in the air for Fleet Mortgages, which, after a review of procuration fees, decided to increase its proc fee for new business to 0.55% from 0.50% in recognition of brokers’ hard work.

The predicted number of rate cuts this year continues to change, but I still believe we will end the year with Bank base at 4%

So, there you have it. The mortgage market? It’s tough. It’s competitive. But guess what? We love it.

There are big opportunities. We’re talking about smart moves. And we’re talking about winning. Because, at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. The losers? The doom-and-gloomers? The so-called experts who are always wrong? Forget them. They don’t get it. Never have, never will.

But you? You get it. You’re paying attention. And that’s why you’re gonna come out on top.

Andrew Montlake is a director at Coreco

---

This article featured in the February 2025 edition of Mortgage Strategy.

If you would like to subscribe to the monthly print or digital magazine, please click here.

The post Market Watch: Make mortgages great again appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

​