October saw a change in the most common criteria searches performed by brokers, new research from Knowledge Bank revealed.

The criteria search specialist noted particular shifts in the equity release, residential and BTL categories.

In the equity release sector, Knowledge Bank found the new and most common search was for ‘additional borrowing,’ followed by ‘ad-hoc payments on additional borrowing,’ and suggested there was a heightened desire for borrowers to be able to unlock more funds – whilst keen to maintain control over repayments.

Furthermore, Knowledge Bank added that this was further supported by the fourth and fifth most popular searches in the category, which were related to whether interest payments were allowed. The search specialist suggested that even at the pre-application stage, borrowers have been asking brokers to search for a lender who will let them make lower monthly repayments.

Elsewhere, Knowledge Bank revealed that within residential searches, brokers have for the first time been searching for lenders who will only leave a ‘soft footprint at the decision in principle stage.’

With ‘defaults registered in the past three years’ being another top five search during October, Knowledge Bank suggested brokers are searching more frequently to place clients with past credit problems, without wanting the process of searching to lower the success of an application.

Within the BTL sector, Knowledge Bank indicated that brokers have been searching for lenders who would consider ‘first time landlords’, which was the most popular search performed during the entire month – the first time this had happened since July.

Knowledge Bank CEO, Nicola Firth, commented: “It’s been a month of change in criteria searching and we have seen movement in several of the lending categories over the past month. This is an indication of just how difficult a job mortgage brokers have in satisfying the ever-changing needs of their clients.

“The mortgage sector continues to show high levels of fluidity, and these results show that different product types rise and fall in popularity from month to month.

“Brokers occupy an absolutely crucial space in the mortgage market as they have to balance the desires of borrowers with almost daily changes to lending criteria.

“As a result, to get the best deal for clients – and ensure that they are meeting regulatory requirements – it’s vital that brokers keep pace with movements in the market and ensure they’re using a tool with up to date product knowledge.”

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