Identifying opportunities whilst looking after vulnerable borrowers will be the most important thing - Comment on the latest BoE Q1 mortgage lenders and administrator figures from Adam Oldfield at Phoebus Software

13 June 2023

Adam Oldfield, chief revenue officer at Phoebus Software, says “The figures from the Bank of England today confirm the downward trend in mortgage lending. Understandable, when you consider the turmoil in the final quarter of 2022. Q2 is likely to show the trend turning upward but, unfortunately, that may well be short lived as the Bank continues to struggle to bring inflation under control. We only have just over a week to wait to find out what the MPC will decide regarding interest rates, but in truth we are all just waiting to see how big the increase is, rather than whether there will be one. The coming months are going to be testing for the housing market, which bears the brunt of these rate rises.

“The fact that the number of mortgages slipping into arrears is increasing is worrying but not unexpected. With the ONS reporting that 1.4 million UK households will see their fixed rate deals come to an end in 2023, this is not a short-term worry. This prospect has the potential to stall the market further and house prices could start to tumble. Brokers and lenders are undoubtedly facing a challenging time, but where there is challenge there is usually opportunity. Identifying those opportunities whilst looking after the more exposed borrowers will be the most important thing.”