Mortgages - UK - March 2016
Overview
 
What you need to know 
Mortgage lending increased by around 8% in 2015. This solid growth was significantly lower than the previous two years suggesting a return to more sustainable levels of growth, a trend that Mintel expects to continue over the next five years. 

In 2015, lenders and intermediaries were able to better coordinate their approach to the market following the upheaval caused by the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in the previous year. The MMR represented the greatest regulatory change for more than a decade, meaning that lenders had to devote a large share of their resources to coming to terms with the new environment. Lenders have also started to work more flexibly within the more closely regulated market, using transitional arrangements to help borrowers that are effectively trapped by stricter lending criteria. Lenders will need to go a step further to keep the market accessible for key demographics, particularly the growing proportion of older people looking to borrow into retirement. Low interest rates have produced some great value deals, but not everyone has access to these and this mismatch could have the potential to slow growth in lending.

This report analyses the residential mortgage market, covering the impact of the regulatory upheaval, the outlook for gross mortgage lending and the changing shape of product distribution. Mintel’s consumer research looks at product ownership in the context of the interest rate environment as well as attitudes towards products and providers.