This illustrates a split in broker opinion, with many clearly appreciative of the boost to the market but also concerned by the chaos caused to third-party parts of the chain like conveyancers and valuers or concerned by the inflated prices buyers are paying.

In a boost to the housing market, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) lifted the threshold for stamp duty liability to £500,000 on 8 July 2020, due to end in March, but then extended the deadline to 30 June.

From the 1 July, the nil-rate threshold drops down to £250,000 and first-time buyer relief resumes. First-time buyers do not have to pay any stamp duty on the first £300,000 of their property purchase. On the portion of their house price between £300,000 and £500,000 they must pay 5 per cent. On the 1 October, the stamp duty holiday ends entirely and the nil-rate threshold reverts to £125,000.

Niki Cooke, head of intermediaries at Twenty7Tec, said: “Beyond the headline statistics, there’s a real split in brokers’ opinion about whether to extend and why. Was the tax relief programme a success? Well it definitely kept the market moving in what were challenging circumstances. But brokers are now asking the biggest of questions: ‘Should we have stamp duty tax at all for average priced houses?’ and ‘How do we make sure that we treat people fairly who would otherwise miss the June 30 deadline?”

In answer to the question, “If you were offered a three-month extension to the stamp duty holiday, would you take it?”, brokers said:

Absolutely 49 per cent
Definitely not 14 per cent
Neutral 12 per cent
Probably 9 per cent
Probably not 16 per cent

Brokers in the yes camp argued the move would relieve pressure on solicitors, free up the backlog in removals firms and keep a buoyant homebuying market going. However, several suggested only pipeline cases should be extended within a concrete timeframe.

One broker said: “Stamp duty needs urgent reform anyway, [so] removal below £500k is a good start. Clients are battling to complete before the stamp duty with lenders flooded and unable to help.”

Another said: “Solicitors are taking so long to address the legal work, with so many still working remotely in their own timeframes.”

In the ‘no’ camp, a broker said: “There needs to be a normal house buying situation again. The stamp duty holiday has been great to stimulate the housing market again, but has also caused chaos with local searches taking months to come back and solicitors unable to cope with business levels.”

According to Twenty7Tec’s May report purchase searches last month came to 849,845 and accounted for around 68 per cent of searches.

The report said that this was due to the stamp duty holiday effect beginning to wear off as the June deadline approached, along with the fact that there were two bank holidays in May.

Remortgage searches stayed roughly flat, growing by one per cent to 399,843 and accounting for 32 per cent of searches.

First-time buyers (FTB) accounted for nearly 21.57 per cent of May searches, down slightly from April, where FTB’s accounted for 22.51 per cent.

The report found that 95 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) deals accounted for 18 per cent of all mortgage searches on its systems, which was ahead of the year-to-date average of 15 per cent.

There has been a 2.96 per cent growth in products available compared to the prior month, with product volumes rising to more than 12,000 for the first time for over a year. However, this is only a 60 per cent pre-pandemic peak according to mortgage software firm.

The report also noted that the second week of May provided the seven busiest days ever for producing ESIS documents using Twenty7Tec’s system, with 90,000 documents produced.

However, that dropped to 70,000 as of 27 May.

“All ESIS docs have risen all year to mid-May when there’s been a drop as the stamp duty deadline became a reality. The drop off of daily rankings since mid-May is sharp and rather dramatic,” according to Twenty7Tec intermediary head Niki Cooke.

Twenty7Tec CEO James Tucker (pictured) said: “We’ve seen fewer searches in most price and LTV ranges in May, as focus turned to creating ESIS documents which could hit the deadline of 30 June.

“Ironically, just as volumes dropped back further for the second month on the trot, product volumes rose above 12,000 for the first time in over a year. June is going to be interesting.”

Beyond these broker challengers, technology advances caught reader’s attention as new integrations and partnerships promised more seamless workflows. The rush of lenders returning to, or enhancing, their high loan to value (LTV) lending continued.

Meanwhile, the regulator ruffled feathers in setting out the latest fees to cover the cost of its compensation scheme.

Conveyancing costs double as homebuyers rush to beat the stamp duty deadline

HMRC warns of self-assessment delays which brokers fear could stall mortgage process

NatWest plugs mortgage application API into Moneysupermarket.com

Product transfers: Benefit to the customer or the lender?

Primis bosses heap criticism on FCA and FSCS fee blows and call for industry unity

Beverley BS offers limited edition 90 per cent LTV deal

It is a mystery why lenders insist on hard footprints for DIPs – Marketwatch

360 Dotnet and Twenty7Tec enhance integration for brokers

Virgin launches mortgage guarantee fixes up to 15 years; TSB adjusts rates

Opportunities rife for advisers promoting advice on furlough and the self-employed – Kensington

This is the first development phase of the Apply module, which sits on the CloudTwenty7 platform, and will allow 360 users to select the apply function within Twenty7Tec’s sourcing system ‘Source’ which has been set up with agreed lenders such as Halifax and TSB.

Apply enables the submission of mortgage applications to multiple lenders from one single platform without the need to re-key client data. Advisers can submit documents, case notes and receive status updates through to completion.

Ozgur Unlu, managing director of 360 Dotnet, said: “We are committed to doing all we can to support our clients, especially during this challenging time. This new deal will see our integration with CloudTwenty7 efficiently supporting our brokers with both sourcing and mortgage applications. This latest integration is very much in line with our commitment to provide the quickest and easiest solution to mortgage brokers and their customers.”

James Tucker (pictured), chief executive of Twenty7Tec, added: “We are delighted to have signed a long-term agreement with 360 Dotnet for their users to have access to both our Source and Apply modules. We have many mutual clients who benefit greatly from the integration of our two respective systems, and I look forward to working with Ozgur and the team at 360 Dotnet both now and in the future.”

Earlier this month, Twenty7Tec launched Halifax Intermediaries onto its Apply module for all users of the CloudTwenty7 platform following a two-month trial period.

The integration will enable brokers to submit decision in principle (DIP) residential applications to the lender without re-keying information.

It allows for broker authentication, decisioning and case tracking.

If the DIP is approved, the adviser will be able to source the case on the Halifax portal so the full application can be completed.

This will enable brokers to submit decision in principle (DIP) residential applications to the lender without rekeying information. 

It allows for broker authentication, decisioning and case tracking.  

If the DIP is approved, the adviser will be able to source the case on the Halifax portal so the full application can be completed.  

James Tucker (pictured), CEO of Twenty7Tec, said: “Our pilot phase saw well over 1,000 applications submitted to Halifax Intermediaries through Apply, and we expect that number to grow exponentially over the coming weeks and months. 

“The feedback that we have received from advisers during this pilot phase, in terms of time saved and efficiency of process, has been exceptional. I have no doubt that all our users will benefit greatly from our partnership with Halifax Intermediaries.” 

Ian Wilson, head of Halifax Intermediaries, said: “We are delighted that this functionality will now be available to all Apply users.” 

In the project, Twenty7Tec integrated with Iress Lender Connect software, which TSB is using to transfer data into the intermediary portal. 

Users of CloudTwenty7 will be able to complete a full TSB application in the CloudTwenty7 platform, using customer data they have already captured, then pass this through to TSB and submit an application.

The integration with TSB is now in pilot with Mortgage Advice Bureau and Connells, with a wider roll out planned to all CloudTwenty7 users in Q2 2021.

“TSB has strived consistently to use technology to make advisers’ lives easier. With this integration, we, and TSB, have delivered a solution offering significant and tangible benefits to advisers — reducing time spent keying data and supporting a more efficient application submission process,” said James Tucker, chief executive at Twenty7Tec (pictured).

Roland McCormack, mortgage distribution director at TSB, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Twenty7Tec to reduce the keying time for brokers, especially important in today’s market.”

This latest Apply integration with TSB follows on from similar projects already announced by Twenty7Tec this year, with Halifax, in March, and Aldermore in February.

Brokers will initially have access to the lender’s regulated bridging product range with its unregulated products being added on to the Source module in due course.

The regulated range is available at up to 70 per cent loan to value with rates starting at 0.59 per cent per month.

Glenhawk has had a busy start to the year – last month it announced it had begun lending in Scotland, while in February it appointed Jamie Pritchard as director of sales.

It typically offers loans from £250,000 to £5m, spanning the residential and commercial sectors.

Pritchard said the lender was “incredibly excited” to be making the move.

“In today’s competitive market, it is vital that we find platforms that allow brokers to obtain a financial solution that best suits their customers, as efficiently as possible,” he said.

Nathan Reilly, head of lender relationships at Twenty7Tec, added: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Glenhawk as it looks to support even more brokers and customers with their specialist lending needs.”

Purchase searches increased by 31 per cent to 1,064,391 in March with remortgage searches rising by 10 per cent to 477,270.

Within 12 months, the ratio of purchase to remortgage business has almost reversed according to Twenty7Tec’s analysis.

The sourcing system saw a 27 per cent rise in standard residential mortgage searches month-on-month and a 24 per cent increase in the volume of fixed-rate product searches compared to February.

Searches for let-to-buy deals rose by 31 per cent month-on-month while Help to Buy searches rose by 28 per cent.

March was the firm’s busiest month on record for mortgage searches and document production. On its busiest day in March an ESIS document was generated every 4.9 seconds.

James Tucker (pictured), chief executive of Twenty7Tec, said: “March 2021 continued the upward trends that we have all experienced over recent months.

“An extension of the UK stamp duty relief scheme, the promise of a guaranteed 95 per cent LTV market and increasing confidence in the market, in vaccines and in life beyond our homes have all combined to sustain growth in our market.

“Is there any respite on the horizon? It doesn’t look as if things will slow down for a few weeks yet although the stamp duty relief ending on the £250,000 to £500,000 [part of the price] range will dampen demand a little.”

The integration of Halifax supports DIP requests for residential mortgages, broker authentication, decisioning and case tracking.

If the DIP is accepted, the broker can then pick up the case and complete a full application in the Halifax portal.

“We’ve been working with Halifax since October 2020 to support development of its application programming interface (API) for decision in principle applications, and the success we saw in our pilot has been impressive,” said James Tucker, chief executive at Twenty7Tec (pictured).

“Feedback from users in the pilot reinforced our belief that submitting applications to Halifax through Apply saves significant amounts of time compared to keying applications directly into the lender’s portal.

“We look forward to rolling out the Apply integration with Halifax to all users and continuing to partner with the lender to develop the solution further,” Tucker said.

Ian Wilson, head of Halifax Intermediaries, said: “We are delighted to announce the integration with Twenty7Tec as one of the significant technology players in our market.

“As technology moves forward, and our customers’ expectations change, it is imperative that we keep up with, and advance, the ways in which intermediaries can do business with us, to meet the needs of customers.

“API integrations have been long-awaited in the market, and while we all have much to learn, we are delighted to have made this significant step,” Wilson added.

The lender, which is part of Yorkshire Building Society, also revealed details of its integrations with mortgage technology providers to improve application submissions processes for brokers.

Accord has developed application programming interfaces (API) to work with the Iress, Mortgage Brain and Twenty7Tec sourcing and CRM systems allowing brokers to pre-populate client details into its MSO platform.

It launched with L&C Mortgages and is conducting a further pilot with Quilter on the Iress Xplan Mortgage system.

Initially the functionality will be rolled out to the Iress Lender Connect system followed more widely with all three major sourcing systems – the Iress Trigold and Xplan Mortgage, Mortgage Brain and Twenty7Tec – during the first half of this year.

Jeremy Duncombe, managing director at Accord Mortgages, said: “Broker and lender integration has been topical for some time, but the last 12 months have brought this into even more focus.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve our systems and processes to make things easier for brokers and are confident investing in this new technology will help them connect with us more effectively than ever before.

“Our MSO platform together with API connectivity means placing cases with us will be much more efficient, and speeding up the time taken to apply for a decision in principle means brokers will have more time to spend with their clients.”

BTL product update

The BTL changes include a range of products at 65 per cent loan to value (LTV) for purchase and remortgage.

These include a pair of deals with a £1,995 fee – the two-year fix is at 1.64 per cent and has £250 cashback, while the five-year option is at 1.96 per cent and has £500 cashback.

New three-year fixed rates for house purchase and remortgage are also being launched, available up to 75 per cent LTV with rates starting from 1.89 per cent.

Rates have also been trimmed on selected products across the range while cashback has been increased to £500 from £250 in some products.