"The blend of pragmatic underwriting, adaptable lending strategies, and a commitment to customer satisfaction perfectly complements the intermediary's role in managing both mainstream and intricate cases."
The mortgage market has undergone significant evolution in recent years, shaped by borrowers' changing needs amid a challenging economic environment, affordability barriers, and varying requirements throughout the lending lifecycle. Consequently, the intermediary market is handling an increasingly diverse range of cases, each with unique circumstances, and doing so with greater frequency.
This growing complexity highlights the need for adaptable lending solutions. In this shifting landscape, building societies have emerged as leaders, driving growth and delivering tailored solutions to meet the demands of modern borrowers.
Leading market growth
Data from the Building Societies Association underlines this substantial contribution. Between March and September 2024, building society mortgage balances were reported to have increased by £11.7 billion, accounting for 72% of mortgage market growth over this period.
As the housing market has regained momentum over the past six months, buoyed by easing inflation, wage growth, and falling mortgage rates, building societies have further strengthened their position. The reported £35.9 billion in gross mortgage lending during this period equates to a 29% market share, supported by over 205,000 mortgage approvals.
Supporting diverse borrower needs
One of the hallmarks of building societies is the ongoing commitment to addressing the needs of a broad borrower base. Notably, it is a lending collective which has always been instrumental in helping first-time buyers and remains so, providing over 63,000 mortgages to this band of borrowers in Q2 and Q3 of 2024. This accounts for 44% of total residential owner-occupier lending from mutuals, showcasing our ability to deliver vital support to those entering the property market for the first time.
Superior customer experience
A standout feature of building societies is their focus on exceptional customer service. The data showed that building societies performed better than banks on all measures of customer service. 93% of building society customers agreed their provider offered good customer service, compared to 87% of bank customers, and 86% of customers said their building society offered competitive rates, compared to 73% of bank customers. These statistics reflect a sustained dedication to delivering value and building trust.
From a mortgage market perspective, success stems from a focus on flexibility and delivering personalised solutions. By utilising manual underwriting processes, where experienced teams can individually review cases when and where necessary, we can cater to borrowers with complex needs. In addition, many societies depend on intermediary partnerships to extend their reach while retaining precise control over product offerings and lending volumes.
A key intermediary partner
The blend of pragmatic underwriting, adaptable lending strategies, and a commitment to customer satisfaction perfectly complements the intermediary's role in managing both mainstream and intricate cases. These partnerships enable brokers to address the diverse needs of their clients effectively while benefiting from the exceptional service standards upheld by societies.
Looking forward, mutuals will continue to play a significant role in shaping the mortgage market in 2025 and beyond. Within this, the intermediary market - which is increasingly central to many societies' distribution strategies - will remain a vital channel as societies refine their offerings to align with changing borrower expectations and market dynamics.
