Ninety-four per cent of mortgage brokers would admit that in order to secure the loan size requested by their clients, they would need to shop around more than they did before the start of the pandemic.

Research by the Mortgage Market Alliance surveyed a group of brokers to understand how COVID-19 has impacted their ability to source mortgages for their clients.

The research found that affordability is currently the biggest challenge for nearly half of brokers (47%), with 34% revealing that LTV is their biggest challenge.

All brokers unanimously agreed that lenders are taking a more cautious approach to affordability as a result of coronavirus, while 81% said they are finding it harder to secure the loan size requested by their self-employed clients than they did before lockdown.

The Mortgage Market Alliance still found that 60% of brokers indicated they work with lenders that are able to ignore whether a client has been furloughed when it comes to affordability, if they have returned to work at full salary.

“The mortgage market, as with most elements of our lives, has changed almost beyond recognition since the start of the pandemic, but headlines heralding a squeeze on mortgage availability tell only half the story,” said Mortgage Market Alliance director, Alex Hammond.

“The overall number of available products has certainly fallen, particularly at higher LTVs, and lenders are looking at applications with more scrutiny, but there continue to be opportunity for customers to secure the loan sizes they need. It’s just more important than ever to shop around.

“For brokers this means working with a more diverse group of lenders and for customers this means seeking professional advice from a broker who is able to research the whole market, as this will give them a much better chance of securing the mortgage that they need to make the next step in their lives.”

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