Even while much of England and Wales at is sending themselves into a footballing frenzy, working life still goes on, and these next six weeks in particular are mightily important for all property market stakeholders.
That said, I get the distinct impression – particularly in lending circles – that there is a level of being fairly comfortable with how much of 2022 has played out, even if September and October were the very opposite of that.
That means we should perhaps not anticipate any significant business-grabbing moves from the lending community, particularly in the mainstream/residential space, as they are likely to have collectively filled their boots on business volume over the past 11 or so months.
However, the nearer to the end of the year we get, the greater likelihood – in my view – that we’ll begin to see lenders beginning to set out their stall as far as 2023 is concerned. After all, no one is going to be able to rest on their 2022 laurels especially if we do move into recession, if rates are moved again by the Bank of England, and if the cost of living crisis continues to hit households in a very severe way.
We’ve already seen what higher interest rates can do to both demand and house prices, and we have to anticipate that – certainly when it comes to purchasing – this will continue to be dampened in the early months of the year.
The remortgage space still seems set apart from this, not least because – as we know – millions of pounds worth of existing mortgage deals comes up for renewal every single month of the year, and when the market appears volatile, borrowers seek to secure as much safety as possible.
It’s why advisers were inundated with remortgage enquiries during that post ‘Mini-Budget’ period, and why with rates still high compared to prior to that disastrous series of measures and announcements, existing borrowers are going to continue to seek out professional advice in order to ease some of the payment shock that most are going to have to live with.
Let’s be honest here, we are not going down to below 2% five-year fixes anytime soon, and while there have been some trending down of product rates, we are still likely to be in an environment where pricing is well above recent historical norms for some time.
As always, remortgage advice presents advisers with a strong opportunity across many other ancillary sale areas. The obvious ones are around protection – particularly pertinent in this economic environment, but advisers do need to cover off every single avenue, especially if purchase activity is likely to be at lower levels than the last couple of years.
In that regard, it was interesting to read some recent research which focused on the consumer experience of conveyancing recently. Much of the headlines generated focused on the numbers who regretted their choice of conveyancer – 19% – and those who said they were unsatisfied with the service – 26%.
Now, clearly that leaves a significant majority who are not in either camps, who do not regret their choice nor felt unsatisfied. However, between these two questions, we’re looking at approximately a fifth/quarter who were clearly unhappy.
Would you as a mortgage adviser be content with that sort of feedback for the service you delivered? I sincerely doubt it and I sincerely doubt you get anywhere near that level of dissatisfaction. That being the case, it seems an obvious move to get involved further in delivering conveyancing advice via trusted firms that would be highly competent specialists, would allow you to generate income from that advice offering, and would hopefully ensure the client remains happy with both their and your service.
How many of those consumers who expressed their disappointment with the conveyancing service they received, were advised which conveyancing firm to use? We know first-hand that where an adviser gets involved, the chances of the process working far more smoothly and where everyone completes in a quicker timescale, is greatly enhanced. Plus, let’s not forget the potential impact on the firm’s bottom line.
As we move through to the end of 2022 and into 2023 let’s ensure no client service/product need is left unexplored, and let’s ensure that conveyancing remains a decision driven by your advice.
Mark Snape is chief executive officer of Broker Conveyancing
