Consumers are given more choice and brokers have more opportunities to source and advise on a wider variety of products to ensure the clients’ needs are met.
Decade of change
This highlights just how much the mortgage market has changed over the past decade. In March 2008, there were more than 6,000 products available.
However, the financial crisis caused the choice of deals to plummet as many lenders withdrew products.
In fact, in September 2008 almost 500 mortgage products were withdrawn during a single week as lenders cut their ranges or pulled out of the market for new borrowers entirely.
Additionally, 85% of buy-to-let deals were also pulled and eventually the choice in the residential mortgage market fell by 60%.
But as the song goes, things can only get better, and they soon did. In the 12 months from May 2009 mortgage products increased by more than 1,000.
Advice is important
Back to the present day.
The increasing competition in today’s mortgage sector has seen lenders strengthen their product portfolios and, as a result, they are showing that they are open for business.
In turn this will open up more opportunities for borrowers to take advantage of the low interest rates available.
However, while the boost in products can only be seen as a positive thing, the more choice borrowers have, the more confusing it can be for them.
Therefore, it is more important than ever that borrowers seek professional advice to ensure they get the best deal for them.
