Legal & General Mortgage Club has revealed the top five mortgage searches by advisers last year.
The organisation’s SmartrCriteria tool, which helps advisers determine which lenders would consider a particular mortgage applicant, recorded that mortgage searches related to buyers with a “visa” was the number one criteria search among advisers in 2020.
L&G said the rise in visa-related enquiries could be attributed to many factors including the weaker pound, the increased interest from Hong Kong-based buyers and the uncertainty facing EU nationals and expats being able to qualify for a mortgage post-Brexit.
The SmartrCriteria tool also revealed that later life lending inquiries relating to the “maximum age” a lender would lend to a customer was the second most searched mortgage criteria in 2020. This could be driven by older borrowers, including those seeking to downsize, who were looking to benefit from the latest Stamp Duty holiday.
The third highest mortgage criteria search was related to buyers who were interested in taking out their first buy-to-let mortgage. The popularity could be explained by landlords looking to take advantage of the Stamp Duty Holiday and the rise in “holiday lets” (such as Airbnb) which was the fourth most searched mortgage criteria in 2020 by advisers. Holiday lets gained popularity over the summer as people opted for UK ‘staycations’. Legal & General Mortgage Club’s findings could indicate that many property investors were looking to purchase buy to let properties in response to this trend.
Finally, the fifth highest mortgage search in 2020 belonged to “expats who were not in the UK” suggesting that in addition to the searches for clients who had a visa, overseas buyers were also reacting to a number of factors which could include recent changes that come into effect in for Stamp Duty for non-UK buyers and the uncertainty facing expats and non UK-nationals post-Brexit.
Clare Beardmore, head of mortgage transformation and operations, Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “As demand and complexity increases along the homebuying journey, advisers are embracing new technologies like our SmartrCriteria and SmartrFit, which combines criteria and with an affordability calculator all in one tool, to help streamline the mortgage search and quickly find lenders that will fit their clients’ needs.
“As housing transactions are taking longer to complete, upwards of 17 weeks since the pandemic, narrowing down the types of lenders that will accept a client is crucial to delivering a quick outcome for customers. Technology is absolutely critical to addressing this challenge. At Legal & General, we are on a mission to transform the market for the better through technology. The insights that SmartrCriteria have given us these past two years have been invaluable as we continue to develop new tools that push our industry forward and emerging insights through adding affordability will provide even more exciting insights going forward.
“Last year’s top searches also highlight that despite ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic, the mortgage market remains open to all types of borrowers. There are clearly options for many borrowers, whatever their circumstances and speaking to an independent mortgage adviser who can help borrowers to navigate the available products should be everyone’s first step.”