Each week, the editorial team of Mortgage Solutions will select our highlights of the week for your enjoyment.
First off are comments from Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, who shared his views on the buy-to-let (BTL) market and the trends he had noticed.
While regulation and tax changes have repeatedly been cited as possible deterrents to further involvement in the BTL market, Stinton claimed misinformation and fearmongering could have just as much of a negative impact on the mood and sentiment of existing and potential landlords.
Also looking at the state of the BTL sector, research from Paragon found the stereotype of the ageing landlord was being dispelled as the average age dropped from 46.4 in 2014 to 42.9 in 2023.
The lender suggested this shift to younger landlords was being led by tenant demand, retirement planning and the rise in UK house prices.
Next, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it would be looking into the pure protection sector and named the commission advisers receive as an area of concern.
The regulator said it would review whether there were any possible conflicts of interest when it came to the products recommended to clients.
Turning to Specialist Lending Solutions, Andrew Fraser, Assetz Capital’s chief commercial officer, commented on the government’s plans for housing.
He said the proposed planning reforms were ‘promising’ but there was a lack of clarity on how that would support conversions, which Fraser said was just as important in providing much-needed housing.
Next was data from Legal and General (L&G) that showed how important financial help from families was to first-time buyers getting on to the property ladder.
Its research found that a fifth of potential or actual first-time buyers would have had to delay purchasing their first home were it not for the generosity of their loved ones. Further, a tenth would not have been able to buy a home at all without this assistance.
Average age of ‘active landlords’ falling with many looking at complex property types, Paragon says
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
