Mortgage affordability has always been central to the advice process, but changing borrower profiles, evolving working patterns and advances in data are challenging traditional approaches to assessing how much a customer can afford.
As borrowers’ circumstances become increasingly varied, a standardised approach may not always tell the whole story. As the discussion in Episode 2 highlights, the idea of the typical employed, nine-to-five borrower is becoming less representative of the customers brokers and lenders encounter.
That creates both challenges and opportunities for the mortgage market. Greater use of data and more personalised affordability assessments have the potential to provide a more detailed understanding of individual circumstances, while lender flexibility and product innovation can help support appropriate outcomes for a broader range of borrowers.
In the second episode of Newcastle Building Society’s Powered by Partnership podcast, Francesco Di Pietro is joined by Kathryn McGee, Data Science Manager at Newcastle Building Society, and Rachel Geddes, Strategic Lender Relationship Director at Mortgage Advice Bureau, to explore how mortgage affordability is changing.
Together, they discuss why affordability is about more than a single number and examine the role of data, personalised affordability, lender flexibility and product innovation in helping brokers and lenders respond to increasingly diverse customer circumstances.
Watch the full discussion below.
If you missed Episode 1: First-time buyers you can view it here
Episode 3 of the Powered by Partnership Podcast series will be published next week on the 6th October
