The criteria sourcing system recorded a lot of changes in what brokers were searching for, especially within the equity release category.
There was a lot of change in what brokers were searching for on criteria sourcing system Knowledge Bank in November, its Criteria Activity Tracker has shown.
In the equity release category, none of October’s top five searches featured again this month, the second month running and the eighth time this year this has been the case.
The top search for equity release was ‘property with an annex /outbuildings /land /acreage', followed by ‘downsizing protection option’ and ‘properties close to commercial outlets’.
Nicola Firth (pictured), chief executive of Knowledge Bank, said: “It’s been a month of massive change in criteria searching with big movements across many lending categories.
“The equity release market, especially, continues to throw up surprises, with searches rarely featuring in the top five in two consecutive months.
“With lenders’ criteria showing so much change from day to day, it is vital that brokers take advantage of all the tools at their disposal so they can stay one step ahead and continue to give clients the best possible advice.
“Only by using technology to their advantage can brokers ensure they are getting the best deal for their client.”
In the residential category ‘maximum age at end of term’ held onto the top spot it has maintained since February.
‘Interest-only’ rose into second place, its highest-ever ranking, pointing to households’ desire to maximise the amount of cash at their disposal.
The top three searches in the buy-to-let category remained broadly similar to recent months. The most searched term was ‘lending to limited companies’ followed by ‘first-time landlords’.
New entries in fourth and fifth places were ‘houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)’ and ‘holiday lets’, which suggest would-be landlords are looking to profit from increasingly transient demand in the private rented sector.
The term that was searched the most for self-build and second charges was ‘maximum LTV'.
For bridging it was ‘maximum loan amount’, followed by ‘regulated bridging’ whilst in the commercial finance category brokers searched for ‘self-commercial properties’ and ‘maximum LTV’ the most.
