Chainbreaking, auction purchase and downsizing key bridging trends for the year – Hardman

Chain-breaking continues to be extremely popular as clients identify opportunities to upsize or downsize in a market where there is a huge supply of stock.

Those people who are downsizing, are typically retired and looking for a more manageable property as they move into later life. But on the other end of the spectrum, families who have outgrown their property are always keen to find somewhere with more floor space, and in the fast moving property market, this is where bridging loans can give a buyer the upper hand.

Auction purchases

When it comes to auction house purchases, they appear to be back at pre-Covid levels and this in turn opens the door for smaller investors to target a property that requires modernisation or conversion.

Following on from this, while there are seasoned investors and builders who target auctions and use cash there are just as many clients now ‘dipping their toe in’ who may not have all the cash required to both secure the property and also do the works. With more people having built up savings in lockdown, this ‘extra saving’ has added another dimension to the market as it has made it more competitive.

Therefore we have seen a marked uptick in less experienced investors who may have previously been put off by apathy amongst lenders to provide finance for them, smaller niche lenders have clearly targeted this sector and there is now more choice for a consumer when working with a broker who has access to these specialist lenders and exclusive deals. This in turn encourages people to take on their first project and we have seen a definite increase in this sector.

We envisage this year to continue to be extremely competitive as the housing market stays robust.