How a more complex mortgage market is driving personalised lending – Williams

With more than half of first-time buyers now relying on multiple incomes, borrowers are increasingly finding themselves outside traditional lending models.

As a result, the mortgage market is becoming more personalised, with lenders looking beyond standard criteria to understand individual circumstances. Today, having a quirk or two is the norm. The challenge is finding a lender willing and able to understand it.

Why personalisation is becoming essential

As borrower profiles become more diverse, the question is no longer, ‘Am I mortgage ready?’, but rather, ‘Which lender is equipped to understand my circumstances?’

Many borrowers have financial circumstances that do not fit neatly within traditional lending criteria. For example, a borrower may work as a CIS contractor while also running a self-employed business, requiring those two income streams to be assessed separately before being brought together to build a complete financial picture.

Sponsored

The next step towards a better home buying journey

Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries

These cases do not necessarily represent greater risk, but they do require lenders to look beyond standardised assessments and take a more holistic view. As a result, lenders are increasingly defining their own borrower niches rather than relying on a single definition of the ‘typical’ customer.

Building societies have long operated in this space

For specialist lenders, this is nothing new.

At Saffron, our focus has always been on supporting borrowers when the high street cannot. Technology plays an important role in progressing straightforward cases efficiently, but more complex applications often require discretion, judgement and specialist underwriting expertise.

Flexibility is not always about changing policy. More often, it is about experienced underwriters assessing the customer behind the application, rather than simply whether every box has been ticked.

This holistic approach means building societies are often well-placed to support borrowers who fall outside the appetite of mainstream lenders, whether they are self-employed, contractors, expats or professional landlords.

Do the FCA reforms reflect the changing market?

Recent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reforms acknowledge what specialist lenders have recognised for some time: affordability assessments need to reflect the realities of modern borrowing.

Greater flexibility has the potential to improve access to homeownership for borrowers whose finances do not fit traditional models. However, regulation alone does not determine lending decisions. Lenders must still be comfortable with risk and ensure borrowing remains sustainable.

The real opportunity lies in encouraging a more personalised approach to underwriting. After all, it is not just what lenders do, but how they do it.

Looking ahead

As borrower needs continue to evolve, the mortgage market will become increasingly personalised. Technology will remain an important enabler, but when it comes to assessing more complex cases, human judgement and specialist underwriting expertise will continue to make the difference.

Borrowers may be more complex than ever, but the real change is that there is no longer such a thing as a typical borrower. As traditional borrower profiles become increasingly obsolete, the future of lending belongs to those that can look beyond the application form, understand the individual, and recognise that modern borrowers cannot always be defined by traditional criteria.