Presenting at Mortgage Solutions’ The Mortgage and Protection Event (TMPE), Beardmore said the market had a “strong year”, and in December last year, UK Finance predicted the market size would be around £514bn, up from around £459bn the year before.
Beardmore said the sector was “on track to outperform the expectations [of] UK Finance”, adding that L&G did not make predictions, but from speaking to lenders and brokers, there were signs that the year could finish between £530bn and £550bn.
She said closing the year at the lower end would still deliver a 15% increase on 2024, adding that a lot of growth across purchases and remortgages was due to loan-to-income (LTI) changes, innovation and improved affordability this year.
Beardmore said business for 2026 and beyond was looking “really positive”, and the brokers and lenders the firm spoke to expect the purchase and remortgage market to be around £300bn.
She said there would be around 1.2 million opportunities for refinancing, particularly from borrowers coming off rates above 5%.
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A clear need for advice
Beardmore added that there had been a “different tone” coming from the regulator to encourage growth in the market, saying that while regulation had changed the market for the better, there was a concern that it had unintentionally stopped people from getting onto the housing ladder because of affordability restrictions or “stifled” innovation.
She said there were positives from the discussions around how to reimagine regulation, but there were also challenges and things to be aware of.
All the upcoming regulatory proposals and changes, higher levels of business and more complexity made the value of advice clearer, Beardmore said.
She added: “You all, as advisers, are fundamental to the successful distribution of products to the end customer. Not just for the advice or the mortgages, but for everything else that you do.
“The handholding that you do, the protection needs covered, the guidance, the chasing… the stuff you do that you don’t need to be qualified for, but you do need a heart for, something that AI will never deliver.”
Beardmore said artificial intelligence (AI) would be useful for research, but clients would still want reassurance from a human.
She added that this did not mean the market should “stand still” but that the future required brokers to balance technology with trust.
Interested in attending TMPE? Register here for the Southampton and London events, taking place on 12 and 13 November.
