Can the mortgage market bounce back inside nine months?

May 24, 2020 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

While the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown are certain to impact on the market for mortgage lending in the short term, a majority of advisors have stated that they expect a recovery inside nine months.

A new Smart Money People survey that spoke to 467 mortgage advisors in the UK found that 77% of them expect the lending market to bounce back as quickly as that, with 51% of them even suggesting that six months may be all the time needed for it to hit the same levels it was at before the virus struck.

Overall, the survey found that the most bullish attitudes were among appointed representatives, 59% of whom stated that they expected a full market recovery in just half a year when the lockdown ends. Advisors who are directly authorised by clients expressed more cautious attitudes, with just 37% expecting the recovery to be that rapid.

Speaking to FT Adviser, LDNFinance director Anthony Rose said that lenders had dealt with the situation well and had continued to commit to mortgage loans throughout the crisis. He went on to state that a rapid bounce back depended on getting the market open and fully functioning again as quickly as possible before adding:

“This feels very different to the credit crunch of 2008/9 because mortgage lenders themselves seem in a much better position to lead the recovery in the housing market.”

Mortgage advisors can prepare for the return of normal business by doing CeMAP and other training courses online during the lockdown.