According to Knowledge Bank’s monthly criteria index, the company said that this was a return to the top five for interest-only after a month’s absence.
The firm said that the popularity of the latter two searches could “suggest tightening of household budgets is continuing, and standard residential borrowers’ circumstances are changing and not for the better”.
Looking at equity release searches, maximum loan to value (LTV), minimum loan amount and maximum age at the end of term were the top three searches.
The company said that searches in this category were more settled, but the search for remaining term of a leasehold and early repayment fees rose in popularity.
“This suggests that we are still in a period of financial uncertainty and borrowers are mindful of any penalties should rates fall and they wish to switch away from their current deal,” it explained.
On the self-build side, non-standard construction and lender in Scotland entered the top five searches.
Amongst bridging searches, searches for commercial property entered the top five for the first time since January.
The top four searches above this were for regulated bridging, minimum loan amount, maximum LTV and second charge loan.
On the buy-to-let side, the top searches were lending to limited companies, first-time landlord and no requirement to be a homeowner.
More complex needs
Knowledge Bank CEO Nicola Firth (pictured) said, “This relentless change demonstrates once again that brokers cannot rest on their laurels and that if it’s not lenders changing criteria daily then it’s their clients’ profiles that are changing.
“One of the consequences of a volatile financial landscape is that household circumstances change as borrowers are hit with cost-of-living increases and perhaps savings begin to run out. As a result, they are approaching brokers with more complex needs and relying on them to find a lender who will accept them as a borrower.”
She added: “Mortgage rates tend to dominate the headlines but it’s all too easy to forget that the borrowers must qualify for the rate in the first place.
“During the first quarter of 2023, there were over 280,000 searches on Knowledge Bank and so the role of the mortgage broker has never been more important, and technology is playing a pivotal role in helping brokers find a home for their client’s loans.”
