More than half (53%) of intermediaries believe that Government policy is the biggest risk to the mortgage market in the next year, Black & White Bridging has found.

In its latest survey, in association with MoneyAge, the bridging lender asked intermediaries to rank the biggest risks to the mortgage market, including Bank of England (BoE) base rate decisions, consumer affordability, the dynamism of the first-time buyer market, government policy and property affordability.

The majority stated that Government policy was the biggest risk, while a further 28% stated that this was the second biggest risk.

Just under a third (31%) listed consumer affordability as the largest risk to the mortgage market, while 11% believed that BoE base rate decisions that would most affect the sector.

The data comes after the bridging lender found that 82% of bridging professionals think their confidence in the market will grow over the next 12 months.

Chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, said the latest data shows that the sector has "little faith in the current Government".

He added: "Given the complete shambles the Chancellor made of the Budget, I’d say they are bang on the money. Unfortunately, the chaos looks set to continue, with Ms. Reeves failing to rule out further tax rises in the spring. She has already alienated landlords and those with higher value properties while offering nothing to support first-time buyers.

"Consumer affordability and the base rate, via inflation, are both impacted by changes to government policy. So, this all comes back to the same core issue. It remains to be seen what impact the Budget will have on inflation and the thinking of the Monetary Policy Committee.

"But for these factors to become less of a risk, a base rate cut must be implemented this week, enabling interest rates to come down as we head into the new year, and getting the sector off to a strong start in 2026."

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