Advisors expecting more near prime clients

June 2, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

Mortgage advisors are encountering more clients who need near prime mortgage products, and they expect the numbers to rise further.

This is the finding of a new survey that was carried out by Atom Bank. The lender polled advisors who tuned into a recent webinar it hosted. In response, 81% of them said they had dealt with more clients who have credit score issues during the past year. It should be pointed out though that, when Atom Bank conducted a similar poll at the end of last year, the figure was 93% of advisors.

Despite a drop in the number of advisors who have helped near prime clients, more of them expect demand to rise over the coming months. A total of 89% of the advisors polled said they think they will see an increase in the need for near prime mortgages throughout the rest of this year. Back in December, just 74% of them felt this way.

What the newest Near Prime Index from Atom Bank shows is that the majority of near prime borrowers are first-time buyers. This finding is supported by the lender’s own internal data.

Richard Harrison works for Atom Bank as its mortgages head. He said demand would also likely come from people nearing the end of fixed rate mortgage deals.

He then added that lenders from all parts of the mortgage sector need to help borrowers at a time when living costs continue to rise.

This is an assessment that those with CeMAP mortgage advisor training would certainly agree with.