The lender was aiming to do two-thirds of its annual business in the prime sector this year but was also looking to move away from short-term fixed rate deals and concentrate on more specialised areas of the market.
However, the volume of business done has taken Accord by surprise and it says it has been forced to re-evaluate its plans.
Linda Will, managing director of Accord, said: “This year our discounted and long-term fixed rate products have taken off so about three weeks ago we decided to pull a couple of the discounted rates. We did that but business kept coming so we’ve had to scrap plans for the new product range. We’re thinking about keeping this pool and riding out the surge before launching the new mortgages.”
One of the products in the pipeline was a longer-term 100 per cent fixed rate deal, following on from the success achieved with their current five-year fixed rate deal, which, according to Will is producing around £67m of business a day.
For Will, this proves clients don’t just want two-year fixed rate deals. She said: “The market, and the statistics coming out, may be saying two-year fixes are the way to go but this just proves there is substantially more to it than that.”
However, for Nicholas Hanson, director of Hanson Financial Management, much of his fixed rate business is still short-term. He said: “When I’m speaking to clients they all want fixed rates but most want short-term fixes. With interest rates as they are, I can’t see this changing unless there is a rate cut and I can’t see that happening for the next six months or so.”
