For those that have just come back from their summer holidays, here’s an interesting fact – at the time of writing there are just 114 days left until Christmas. Cue plenty of head scratching, and wondering out loud (at least on my part) where 2016 has gone and what will the next three and a half months have in store for all of us, particularly mortgage market stakeholders?
I wouldn’t go so far as to say the countdown to Christmas has already begun, but in my local supermarket the aisle they put aside for ‘holiday items’ is already starting to look Christmas-esque with plenty of boxes of cheese crackers and a fair share of chocolate, most notably tubs of Celebrations on sale. Always a sure sign that Christmas is somewhere on the horizon, if in this case, slightly too far away to be comfortable about making such purchases.
After all, we’re barely into September, but as soon as the kids go back to school, the nights get darker, and the shorts are packed away for another year, our attention does tend to turn to what we need to do to meet our end of year targets and also what might the market deliver for us in these somewhat unprecedented times?
So, from a business perspective what does this actually mean for you and your firm? Well, traditionally, September/October and November are strong months for the market and should provide advisers with plenty of opportunities to develop services, look after additional clients and seek out new leads. This year, with Brexit, those notions of ‘strong months’ might actually be different, but in my opinion they won’t be demonstrably so.
This means – and the cut (perhaps cuts) to Bank Base Rate will help in this regard – that new and existing borrowers should still be looking for advice in the same numbers we have witnessed over the past few years. Indeed, looking at the latest statistics for lending activity, while there have been some ups and downs over the last few months, there has been nothing like the drop-off in activity that some were predicting pre-EU referendum. Good news for now, but we should also be prepared for the fact things can change, and change quickly.
In order to get to the end of year in the right shape, advisers will (as they obviously have done over many years) need to be flexible and to seek out the opportunities where they present themselves. The good news is that the intermediary sector remains the core distribution channel for lenders – in other words advisers should retain a competitive edge, with access to the best products and rates. Any resurgence in the remortgage market will also help, and as stated above, if the MPC cuts BBR again, this sector is going to be as competitive as it has ever been.
To aid advisers we are just about to start ‘Expo’ season with the next few months chock-full of events and exhibitions designed to help you get the most out of relationships, and to inspire you to develop your proposition in numerous ways in order to offer the most comprehensive service to clients. In that sense, no service/no product/no offering should be left out of your adviser toolkit – we’re obviously going to suggest that you ensure you’re offering conveyancing advice to as many clients as possible, particularly first-timers who are unlikely to have a full idea of the legal process and what is required of them and their chosen solicitor. Even those clients who you have provided mortgages for in the past may not have a ‘special relationship’ with a conveyancing firm, and for a relatively small amount of work, you can provide them with peace of mind and add a valuable income stream to your business. Again, if you utilise a distribution platform like ourselves, you’ll get access to highly competitive terms and be paid on exchange.
On top of this, it would be foolhardy not to consider the provision of protection or GI or legal services advice, given the demand that clients will have in these areas. If you leave no stone unturned then you are more than likely to be able to cover off has many of these advice areas as possible. This could be doubly important in a period of relative uncertainty and one where some clients may be much more inclined to ‘wait and see’ rather than act. It’s up to you to ensure they are aware of the benefits of acting now, especially in key areas, where the products and rates on offer might (quite frankly) never be bettered.
So, while the thought of Christmas holidays might seem comforting, now is not the time to get into that head space. Instead, utilise all that is available to you now including support, relationships and market conditions, to make sure you spend the next few months hitting your targets and developing your offering. It’s not going to be an easy process but the rewards to be gained at the end of it, should make it all worthwhile by the time you come to sit down for your turkey on the 25th December.
Harpal Singh is managing director of BrokerConveyancing.co.uk