Mortgage Broker Broadcast
Developing your knowledge to help you build a successful Mortgage Broker business. Craig Skelton shares his thoughts and experiences on all aspects of mortgage advice covering everything from operating in the banking world, estate agency based advisers all the way up to working as a self employed broker. He will be joined by experts from within the industry and other business sectors which all play a key part in becoming a successful mortgage broker in the modern world.
Mortgage Broker Broadcast
2026: Brokers, Be Ready
Forecasts don’t build a pipeline—systems do. We take a clear-eyed look at what 2026 is likely to bring for mortgage brokers and explain how to turn easing interest rates, rising lending volumes, and a remortgage surge into steady growth. Rather than chasing headlines, we map out practical steps to get ahead: when to contact clients, how to compare two-year and five-year fixes with confidence, and where brokers can add value that comparison sites can’t.
We walk through the signals that matter—swaps, inflation trends, MPC guidance—and translate them into plain-English advice you can share with your clients. Expect a modestly healthier purchase market and a meaningful lift in refinancing as borrowers come off 2023–2024 highs. For landlords, cheaper finance and higher rents may support a buy-to-let rebound, but regulatory headwinds and EPC scrutiny demand sober planning. We dig into stress testing portfolios, weighing personal vs. limited company structures, and preparing contingency buffers to manage arrears risk in a tight rental market.
If you’re building for resilience, this is your playbook: identify 2026 renewals now, build a proactive retention cadence, and use AI to automate admin so you can focus on advice and speed. We also share simple marketing moves—client updates tied to macro data, search-friendly content on remortgages and BTL, and CRM segmentation—that help you win attention before renewal dates hit. Ready to convert a steady outlook into real momentum? Follow the plan, subscribe for weekly tactics, and leave a review to tell us which niche you’re tackling next.
I help employed mortgage brokers go self-employed with clarity, confidence and one-to-one mentoring. Find out how Pathways or Coaching works at craigskelton.co.uk
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Hi, and welcome to this week's The Mortgage Broker broadcast. I'm your host, Craig Skelton, and it's mid-October already. And today, this week, I want to look ahead to 2026. This year isn't over yet. I absolutely get that. But many of the decisions that we make now will set the tone for next year. And the market is shifting. Interest rates are expected to ease further. Lending volumes are forecast to grow and are on the up. And landlords are facing a change in landscape too. So I'm not one for talking about forecasts and predictions and markets on this podcast, but I just thought I would do this week. And so in this episode, I want to get into what the latest forecasts suggest for 2026. But more importantly, and the real purpose of the show is talking about how brokers can prepare to thrive in 2026. So why look ahead? It's beginning to find its footing really and getting back to a bit of normality. It's estimated that gross mortgage lending will rise. Finish this year 275 billion, rising to 295 billion next year, so big rise overall in the market. Purchase lending's going to climb too. Finishing the year about 177 billion. Next year, forecast 190 billion. Big thing as well next year, remortgage is going to be huge next year. Finishing this year about 88 billion. Next year, 94 billion. So these numbers are suggesting that it's a far more active market, also fuelled by the interest rates as well, and a wave of borrowers looking for the remortgaging. So for brokers, that means more opportunity, but also more competition. So understanding the trends now allows you to position yourself as the mortgage broker, the advisor of choice for next year. So what do the forecasters actually say? Well, IMLA expects lower interest rates next year, high levels of refinancing too to support lending growth. Their report suggests that by to that lending will rise from 38 billion in 2025 to 42 billion next year. So improved affordability, obviously falling rates and rising rents too will entice landlords back into the market. The potential supply shortage could push rents even higher, too. And it's a bit of a double-edged sword that increases yields absolutely, but also makes the entry into that more market more expensive. And at the same time, mortgage arrears above 2.5% of the loan balance are expected to fall from about 100,000 this year to about 90,000, so a reduction of 10%. And that's partly because many borrowers are already refinanced at high rates, so their next remortgage could bring down their payments down, which is obviously a positive thing, too. And what about the interest rates? Well, Bank of England have obviously trimmed them recently, hold them steady, and they are where they are. I think the path forward could be a little bit more complex, too, because it depends on the forecasters. You get different thoughts, different feelings in terms of the base rate. But as we know, fixed price mortgage lending rates depend on long-term market expectations rather than the base rate alone. So, but the experts are cautiously optimistic about the future. And they are optimistic that a typical two-year fixed rate could drift towards three and a half percent by the end of this year, which is good news. And with further gradual declines into 2026, and some major financial institutions even forecast the base rate could fall to around 3.5% early 2026, too. So the thing is with inflation being as it is, the NPC will probably move slowly. The gap between two-year rates and five-year rates has narrowed. A longer fix might not be much more expensive as it has been in the past, but it also offers peace of mind against future rises. So there's gonna be a bit of competition between the two and the five-year fix as well. But as I said, predictions do vary. Some say interest rates will probably be lower in 2026, but the journey could be slow. Some analysts expect the Bank of England to hold off on further cuts until probably the end of the first quarter of 2026 and look around April time because, like I said, the inflation is stubborn, really. But and again, contrast to other people think that late 2025 the rate will be cut, possibly again. But overall, a sustained fall to around on the base rate, to around three, three and a half percent. So I reckon it's up mid to late 2026 for the rates to settle down and the full effect in terms of the changes that we're going to see take full effect, really. Also, on the back of that house pricing, um, what does that look like? Well, lower borrowing costs generally boost demand, that's what normally happens. Some experts predict house prices could rise around 4%, 5% in 2026. Again, depends who you speak to, others are cautious or more cautious, suggesting growth will be closer to 1% if the economic challenges and stamp duty and all those sort of kind of things dampens their buyer confidence. But either way, most people are saying they expect a healthy market for 2026 rather than that boom or bust that we've had in the past. So for brokers, this means focusing on adding value, helping clients understand their borrowing options, emphasizing on affordability, and highlighting like properties that will meet their long-term needs is also going to be important. As I touched on there, buy to let and landlord considerations. Buy to let sector does look for a rebound in 2026, a rise, what did I say, 38 billion in 2025 to about 42 billion in 2026. Cheaper finance, cheaper mortgages, cheaper rates, rent increases. But as we know, there are there are headwinds as well for potential landlords, which we all know about, which could dissuade new landlords into this market. Existing landlords might also think about their portfolios if tenant rights as well, expand further as well. And I think this is where advisors really add their benefit. Advisors should be helping landlords stress test their investments, consider limited company structures, and explore energy efficient upgrades too, as lender factors in EPCs more into affordability. And a shortage of rental stock as well could drive rents up further. But this all increases the risk of affordability issues for tenants and arrears, and areas where good advice, good broken is absolutely essential. So let's look at the opportunities for remortgaging. There's going to be more re mortgage opportunities next year. That is a fact already. So, and they are going to underpin the market. Remortgaging lendings 88 billion this year, 94 billion next year. Many borrowers who have locked into higher rates during that sort of 2024, 2023, 2024 spike could sort of see their payments fall, obviously, when they do their remortgage. So the important message is with this is as mortgage brokers, you should start working on client retention now because identifying clients who have fixed their deals to up to in 2026 in 2024 that are then up for renewing in 2026, review their options early, make sure they're aware of you and that you're still there. And you need to be educating these clients and giving good advice, being a good broker and demonstrating potential savings early on. Remortgaging comp is going to be tough competition next year as a broker. That is clearly what people are seeing as opportunity. So service and proactivity will differentiate you from the likes of comparison sites, certainly from the likes of going direct to lenders. You need to become a true broker for your remortgage clients in 2026. So, overall, how can you prepare for 2026? Well, first thing to do is stay informed, keep up to date with the press Bank of England announcements, inflation data is important, swap rate movements as well, and then use this knowledge to advise your clients to on whether to fix now or wait. And you can also get that across in your social media, across on your website too, which will all help with lead generation and building your business of broker next year. Also, as well, look at diversifying what you offer, explore specialist markets and specialist niches. As the market expands, clients will appreciate advisors more who can handle complex cases. So make sure you're looking at exploring those opportunities as too. And then support your landlords, talk to your landlord clients, keep in constant communication with them and talk about the implications because then they will need help and help them assess their portfolios, their cash flow, be a good broker to those two. And then make sure you're using AI, the AI tools to automate systems, to handle admin and free up time. All the things I've talked about before, free up time for relationship building, which is wrapped around all the purpose of this podcast. Clients will expect quick turnarounds and that personal advice in 2026. So just wrapped around all that is making sure using AI to give you that time to be a broker, to make sure you're enhancing client communication and the client knows that you are around and helping them with all their needs in 2026. So that brings us to the end of the 2026 outlook outlook. And the coming year promises lower rates, more lending, but fresh opportunities are broke. If you're ready to seize them right now, so start preparing, reach out to your clients, build your remortgage book, make sure you you know every single client. If you communicate with every single client, the deal is up next year, and just refine your skills. Remember, it's not about predicting the future perfectly, and that's the whole reason why I never do that very rarely on the podcast, because it's not about that. The message from the podcast is not about that, it's about being ready for whatever comes next. So, thanks for listening. Thanks for tuning in. If you've enjoyed the episode, please share it with another broker. Leave a review, subscribe as always, so you never miss an episode that comes out. Have a great week, and as always, please don't forget to run your own race.