The mortgage market is already in the “early stages” of recovery, and “pent-up demand” could lead to a boom in homebuying in 2025, according to the country's biggest broker the Mortgage Advice Bureau.
The firm today revealed the impact of the aftermath of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget and the Bank of England’s repeated rate hikes, as new lending tumbled by 21% to £19 billion last year. The buy-to-let sector was hit hardest, with new lending to landlords cut in half.
Lending started the year extremely slow, following the aftermath of the mini-Budget in the Autumn of 2022. Activity picked up in spring 2023, only for stickier-than-expected inflation to send mortgage rates rocketing again as the Bank of England jacked up interest rates, There were signs again of recovery late in the ear, but activity was still well below pre-mini-Budget levels.
The Mortgage Advice Bureau said it did better than most other brokers, increasing its share of the market.
But the Bureau was optimistic on the future, especially 2025. Boss Peter Brodnicki says could be a “catch-up year” as people who have held off on buying a home because of high interest rates finally make the purchase.
Brodnicki said: “"Against a very challenging backdrop in 2023, MAB continued its exceptional track record of outperformance and market share growth in all market conditions.
"Despite the severe market downturn, we continued our investment across the entire business and remained resolutely focused on long-term growth.
“"2024 has started well, with both purchase and re-financing activity having picked up significantly. We believe this signals the early stages of a market recovery that builds towards a catch-up year in 2025, with pent-up demand continuing to be released as consumer confidence and affordability increase.”
A stronger market for product transfers helped insure that profits only dipped by 7%, to £16.2 million.
