Knowledge Bank has reported that around 40% of the 1,500 criteria updates carried out on its system during July were in the buy-to-let (BTL) sector.

In second place was the residential sector with 30% of the month’s changes, followed by bridging with 23%.

Knowledge Bank’s criteria tracker reveals brokers’ most common criteria searches to find lenders who will consider their clients’ circumstances.

Within the BTL sector, the most searched for criteria was once again lending to limited companies, followed by brokers searching for lenders who would accept first-time landlords. Knowledge Bank suggested this shows the housing market remains an “attractive home for long-term investment”, even if potential landlords are not already on the housing ladder themselves.

Criteria searches in the residential sector during July continued to focus on stretching out loan terms, with the favourite search among brokers once again being for the maximum age at the end of the term.

However, Knowledge Bank’s data showed that the main change in residential criteria has been the rising popularity of searches for lenders accepting self-employed borrowers with just one year’s accounts. As a result of COVID, an increasing number of people have chosen or been forced down the self-employed route and this looks to be a sector on the rise.

Knowledge Bank CEO, Nicola Firth, commented: “July was another hugely busy month for criteria changes and our dedicated team worked flat out with Lenders to keep up with the changes and so it would have been impossible for brokers to stay on top of all the changes. The standout sector for change in July was BTL and a raft of product and criteria changes flooded in each day.”

In the bridging sector, Knowledge Bank’s data showed that the top search among brokers was for lenders offering regulated bridging to their clients. With inflation expected to increase further and rising interest rates to follow, Knowledge Bank suggested that clients will be keen to secure properties “as soon as possible”, to take advantage of the remaining lower rate deals.

Firth added: “There has also been a huge shake-up in the bridging sector which saw almost a quarter of all criteria changes in the month. Bridging lenders continue to innovate and it is one of the most fluid sectors in the market. This makes it highly adaptable to political and economic change and brokers need to keep a close eye on changes which are happening daily.

“With reports that completion times becoming longer and longer, coupled with rates rising, it’s imperative that brokers don’t waste a second on failed applications and know at the outset which lenders will accept their clients by checking criteria conditions prior to a product search.”

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