Enness Private: How has the mortgage market fared throughout 2016?

This week we took a look back over the year, as featured in an article on Mortgage Solutions; it has been a strong year for both new entrants to the lending market and for existing mortgage brokerage firms.

It has been a great year for businesses bringing something new to the market. Of particular note are digital challenger Atom Bank, who has responded to the growing demand for digital lending by launching a range of mortgage products, and Axis Bank, who has expanded its lending criteria which has enhanced our ability to source finance for our clients, regardless of their circumstance.

Furthermore, and despite wide spread reports of doom in the property market and many political talking points, brokerage firms like ours are also ending the year on a high. Even though Prime Central London is largely regarded as one of the biggest losers – thanks to punitive stamp duty on first and now second homes – we have had a great year. Enness has grown from a team of 30 to almost 50, with a growing client services team and two new offices, including one in Monaco. This is a reflection of the continued demand from people buying property, and growing demand from foreign national and expat clients.

There has been much talk in the press about the attack on the buy to let sector, which we of course agree with. Changes to stamp duty, reduced tax relief and now the ban on agent letting fees for tenants and landlords, have all contributed to the market becoming less attractive to enter. We should be encouraging this type of tenure, not discouraging it, and this year has acted as a deterrent.

Additionally, and as has been widely reported, it has been an excellent year for borrowers. Record low interest rates have made it a great time to take out a loan but, for the same reason, it hasn’t been such a good year for savers.

Finally, it has been a buoyant year for the bridging finance market and our specialist bridging finance team. Despite events such as Brexit and the implementation of the Mortgage Credit Directive presenting challenges, we are continuing to see growth. We are also seeing a lot of creativity, especially from the smaller lenders – short lease bridging, no valuation products, etc. This enables us as brokers to be able to find a solution for our clients, regardless of their circumstances, and shows bridging is becoming a more favourable solution than it once was.

If you would like advice on how to maximise your buy to let portfolio or make the most of the exciting new products on the market, please get in touch.

Shared by Enness Private: Full blog readable here.

Enness Private

We arrange large mortgages secured against international property for global individuals.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Interior Design in 2025: Bold Colours are Making a Comeback

The days of sterile whites and boring beige walls are long gone. Homeowners are now starting to embrace bold colours more than ever, a trend that we can expect to see going into 2025. The move away from neutral tones indicates that homeowners are trying to be more expressive, and that they are also trying…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Digital Verification and Anti-money Laundering Tool Achieves 2m+ Downloads

  Five per cent of UK adult smartphone users have now used Thirdfort The app based platform uses AI, biometric verification and Open Banking to simply and quickly carry out  ID and funds verification in high-value transactions such as home buying   Thirdfort, a client due diligence platform that integrates Know Your Client (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML),…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Estate Agent Talk

Bank of England’s decision not to change interest rates

Following on from the Bank of England’s decision not to change interest rates, here are some thoughts from the Industry. Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director, LRG: After a reduction in August, the decision not to reduce interest rates further in September was what we’d expected.  The impact of August’s cut has had the desired…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove reacts to Bank of England rate hold

Reacting to today’s Bank Rate hold, Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert said: “We’re still expecting two rate cuts before the end of the year, and home-movers should continue to see a downward trend in mortgage rates this side of Christmas. I think overall, there’s likely to be quite a moderate response from lenders in response…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Buying a Second Home in Malaysia – An Overview

Many UK citizens purchase second homes and Southeast Asia is a very popular destination, in particular Malaysia, where the climate is nice and the economy strong. There are other reasons why a UK citizen might choose Malaysia for a second home, such as the MM2H program that offers many incentives. What is the MM2H program?…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 19/09/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Industry overview of the expert guides for AI implementation Kateryna Mamchych from Ascendix Technologies gives her expert opinion regarding best practitioners to lead companies through the AI transisition which all companies are now finding themselves caught up in, ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a pervasive…
Read More