Iress said that it was aiming to introduce a green mortgage filter by the end of year, while Twenty7Tec said that it should be ready to rollout in the fourth quarter.
Mortgage Brain said that in the latest version of its online system, Sourcing Brain, released in the summer brokers could filter for green mortgages in its advanced filters section.
Green mortgages have begun to be more widely offered, with several lenders bringing out the products over the past year.
According to Moneyfacts data, as of the start of October there were 157 green branded residential mortgage products in the UK from lenders including Natwest, Virgin Money, Danske Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Leeds Building Society.
Residential green incentive products, which offer rewards for improving energy efficiency and so on, numbered 350 products with major lenders including Nationwide and Halifax.
Buy-to-let green branded products came to 95 with lenders including Landbay, Kensington, Keystone Property Finance and Foundation Home Loans.
Some brokers said that the lack of a green mortgage filter in sourcing systems could make it more challenging to find and recommend such products to clients in the first instance, which could impact their take-up.
Drivers for introduction
Iress and Twenty7Tec said that the introduction of the filter would make it easier to identify products and was partially in response to lenders releasing more green mortgage products into the market.
Nathan Reilly, head of lender relationships at Twenty7Tec, said that by using the filter, brokers would be able to easily identify available green mortgage products to benefit customers. He said brokers could offer financial savings or incentivise customers to make “necessary improvements” to properties during the advice process.
He added that lenders participating in the green mortgage space would be more “visible” and “potentially have a competitive advantage over those that aren’t”.
He said: “It is encouraging to see the industry and particularly lenders responding to a global challenge, and product availability is much higher than 12 months ago, but there’s a long way to go to improve existing properties that need to be modernised to be more environmentally friendly. Currently a lot of the green mortgage benefit sits with those buying new builds, which is only a fraction of mortgage stock.”
An Iress spokesperson said that it had decided to introduce the filter based on client conversation, who said in turn that their clients would find “helpful”.
The spokesperson added: “We have seen that lenders are putting out more and more products for this incentive, the filter will allow brokers to either not have these products in the search results if they are only for green mortgages, or filter so that they just see these products.”
A spokesperson from Mortgage Brain said that it had been working with lenders and industry bodies to ensure it was in a position to ensure brokers and lenders have a platform that gives “accurate and relevant information that allows everyone to make the right recommendations for the best possible customer outcomes”.
They added: “For us, ensuring that we have the relevant solutions to enable this is critical and we will continue to evolve our proposition to reflect changes in our market constantly, we are sure that there will be more we can do to further enhance how green mortgages are researched and recommended across all forms of research.”
Mortgage technology and sourcing firm Twenty7Tec’s August report also noted the market had returned to relative stability after 18 months of upheaval.
It revealed that 1 in 29 of all mortgage searches are now for properties valued at over £1m, with one in 12 of all completed mortgage searches on £1m plus properties from first-time-buyers.
Statistics from equity release brokers Key Retirement show that in H1 2021 the largest proportion of equity released by over 55s was spent on mortgage repayment at 45 per cent and gifting at 22 per cent. In comparison, only one per cent was spent on holidays, suggesting that parents have been releasing equity in higher numbers than ever before to help first-time-buyers to get on the property ladder.
The Twenty7Tec data also showed five per cent growth in self-build mortgage searches in August 2021 versus July 2021 and first-time-buyers (FTB) accounted for five per cent of all searches.
The percentage of searches in the £150k- £250k valuation bracket is at its lowest for 10 months at seven per cent, despite the ongoing stamp duty relief in this price range.
James Tucker (pictured) CEO of Twenty7Tec, said: “August 2021, aside from the slight market side effects of the bank holiday, was broadly the same as July 2021. However, the fact that one in 12 first-time-buyer searches are now for properties over £1m is indicative of both a housing market that remains exceptionally buoyant, and potentially the size of deposits that FTB’s have been able to save during the pandemic.
I believe we could yet see a significant uplift in remortgage business, as consumers assess their finances after what will no doubt have been a hectic summer – especially as rates are so low at present.”
The latest report developed on the Koodoo analytics platform, in partnership with Iress showed the popularity of five-year fixed rate products continues to increase amongst consumers, with residential remortgage five-year fixed products now representing 34.3 per cent of all searches. These products have been demonstrating a consistent upwards trend over the last 10 months.
The supply and competitiveness of 10 year residential fixed rates continues to improve, with this month seeing an increase as Habito launches new products in this space.
Over the last 10 months, the gap between the proportion of searches for fixed and variable rates has increased steadily, with fixed rate searches now representing 94.5 per cent of all searches.
The partnership will let brokers access residential-led loans up to 80 per cent loan-to-gross-development-value.
The loan sizes for the bridging products range from £50,000 to £1m. The development loans go from £100,000 to £1m.
Gareth Ward, head of underwriting at FutureBricks, said: “We’re already an innovator in providing bridging and development loans to small and medium size developers. Small ticket facilities are often overlooked, whereas we recognise huge demand for smaller, short-term bridging and development facilities.”
“By aligning with Twenty7Tec, we’re more easily identifiable to brokers and borrowers, and can expand our offering to a much wider group,” Ward added.
Nathan Reilly, head of lender relationships at Twenty7Tec, said: “We’re really pleased to have added a technology-led lender like FutureBricks to CloudTwenty7 so advisers can access and source its product range and criteria.”
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.”
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.”
