Following the recent reduction in the Bank of England base rate, we asked Ken Kemal, CEO of mortgage advisors Henry Dannell Private Clients Limited for his views on the current mortgage market.
As the year gathers momentum, there is a growing sense at Henry Dannell that the mortgage market has entered a more constructive phase. The caution and inertia that defined much of the recent period are steadily being replaced by confidence, intent and renewed competition. This shift has not happened overnight, nor has it been driven by a single catalyst. Instead, it reflects a gradual but meaningful realignment across the lending landscape, one that, from Henry Dannell’s vantage point, is placing the market on firmer footing as the months ahead unfold.
At the core of this renewed optimism are two complementary dynamics that Henry Dannell continues to see play out across live client cases. On the one hand, high-street lenders are once again competing on price, deploying sharper rates and more competitive product structures to win business. On the other hand, challenger banks and building societies are pushing boundaries in policy, relying on underwriting sophistication rather than headline pricing to attract increasingly complex borrower profiles. Together, these forces are shaping a mortgage market that feels more balanced, more responsive and ultimately healthier.
Stability is rebuilding confidence across the market
From Henry Dannell’s perspective, mortgage markets do not require perfect conditions to function effectively; they require stability and predictability. Over recent months, a clearer interest-rate environment and greater confidence in funding costs have allowed lenders to move away from reactive decision-making and towards longer-term planning.
This shift is significant. When lenders can forecast with greater certainty, they are more willing to commit capital, refine their distribution strategies and set growth targets that extend beyond short-term volatility. In practical terms, Henry Dannell has seen this translate into broader lender appetite, more consistent engagement and fewer abrupt policy reversals.
For borrowers, this stability is equally important. Property decisions are as much psychological as they are financial. Even where rates remain above historic lows, anchored expectations restore confidence. Buyers begin to re-engage, movers reassess previously paused plans, and homeowners move from deferral to action when considering refinancing strategies.
The result, as Henry Dannell observes, is a market that feels more intentional. Activity may not yet reflect previous peaks, but it is increasingly purposeful, driven by informed decision-making rather than hesitation.
High-street banks: pricing competition returns with purpose
One of the clearest indicators of renewed market health has been the return of genuine pricing competition among high-street lenders. Where rates once moved largely in unison, differentiation has re-emerged. Lenders are actively positioning themselves against one another, using price as a primary lever to capture market share.
Henry Dannell is seeing this competition manifest across several dimensions:
- More frequent repricing cycles
- Narrower margins between best-buy products
- Improved pricing at lower loan-to-value bands
- Stronger remortgage and product-transfer offerings
- Greater flexibility around fees and incentives
Importantly, this is not superficial competition. It reflects a strategic shift towards growth. Mortgages remain a cornerstone product for high-street banks, not only for balance-sheet expansion but for long-term customer acquisition. In a more stable environment, competitive pricing is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining borrowers.
For consumers, this means that meaningful choice has returned. For advisers at Henry Dannell, it restores the ability to create value through careful comparison rather than compromise. The capacity to deliver materially better outcomes, not just acceptable ones, is once again central to the advisory proposition.
As the year progresses, Henry Dannell expects pricing pressure to intensify further. With capital available and growth targets re-established, high-street lenders are likely to compete increasingly aggressively, particularly for high-quality, well-understood borrower segments.
Challenger banks and building societies: competing through policy depth
While high-street lenders focus on pricing, challenger banks and building societies continue to differentiate themselves through policy innovation and underwriting sophistication, a trend Henry Dannell views as one of the most constructive developments in the market.
Over recent months, these lenders have demonstrated a growing willingness to engage with complexity rather than retreat from it. This is critical in a market where modern borrower profiles rarely fit traditional templates. Income is increasingly variable, careers are less linear, and wealth is often held across multiple structures and jurisdictions.
Henry Dannell has seen particular progress in areas such as:
- More nuanced treatment of bonus, commission and variable income
- Improved frameworks for self-employed and entrepreneurial borrowers
- Pragmatic approaches to later-life lending and retirement planning
- Greater tolerance for historic credit issues where current affordability is robust
- More holistic assessment of complex financial profiles
This evolution is not about loosening standards indiscriminately. Instead, it reflects a more mature understanding of risk, one that distinguishes between complexity and instability. In many cases, the borrowers presenting the most complex profiles are also among the most resilient, supported by diversified income streams and substantial asset backing.
Building societies, in particular, continue to play a vital role. Their commitment to manual underwriting and case-by-case assessment allows them to respond dynamically to individual circumstances. From Henry Dannell’s standpoint, this human judgement remains essential in a market defined by diversity.
A healthier balance between price and flexibility
The interaction between high-street pricing competition and challenger-led policy innovation is creating a more balanced mortgage ecosystem, something Henry Dannell sees as fundamental to the market’s long-term health.
Borrowers are no longer forced into stark trade-offs between cost and flexibility. Instead, solutions are increasingly layered, with competitive pricing supported by sensible, real-world underwriting. This balance is particularly important as borrower needs continue to evolve.
Multiple income streams, international exposure, portfolio careers and later-life planning are no longer edge cases; they are becoming mainstream. A market that can accommodate this diversity without excessive friction is, in Henry Dannell’s view, a stronger and more sustainable one.
For borrowers, this balance creates confidence. For advisers, it expands opportunity. The ability to align lender appetite with borrower reality, rather than forcing profiles into rigid frameworks, is central to delivering consistently positive outcomes.
The growing strategic importance of the intermediary
As lender propositions become more nuanced, Henry Dannell believes the intermediary’s role becomes more important, not less. Price comparison alone is no longer sufficient. Policy interpretation, lender intent and timing all play critical roles in shaping outcomes.
In a competitive environment, lenders are selective not only about who they lend to but how cases are presented. Well-structured applications that clearly align with lender appetite move faster, encounter fewer friction points and deliver better borrower experiences.
This is where informed advice, experience and increasingly technology-enabled insight intersect. At Henry Dannell, the intermediary acts as the translator between borrower complexity and lender criteria, ensuring that ambition on both sides is matched effectively.
Far from being marginalised, brokers sit at the centre of this evolving market. Their ability to navigate both price- and policy-led solutions is fundamental to the system’s efficient functioning.
A constructive trajectory for the months ahead
The direction of travel is clear. Competition has returned, not just in pricing, but in ideas. Innovation is accelerating across underwriting, product design and distribution. Confidence is rebuilding steadily rather than speculatively.
While challenges inevitably remain, Henry Dannell observes that the tone of the market has shifted from defensive to deliberate. Lenders are engaging with purpose. Borrowers are re-entering the market with clearer expectations. Advisers are once again empowered to shape outcomes rather than manage constraints.
As the year continues to unfold, the mortgage market feels less like it is recovering and more like it is evolving toward a structure that is more responsive, more competitive, and better aligned with how people live, earn, and plan today.
That evolution provides strong grounds for optimism. Not because conditions are perfect, but because the market is functioning as it should: competitive, adaptive and increasingly confident in its ability to support borrowers through a changing financial landscape, a view firmly shared at Henry Dannell.
This article has been written by Henry Danell Private Clients Limited, with whom Tees Financial Limited have an introducer agreement in place. We introduce clients to Henry Dannell Private Clients Limited for mortgage advice. Where a client proceeds with mortgage advice following such an introduction, we may receive a fee from Henry Dannell Private Clients Limited. This remuneration is paid by Henry Dannell Private Clients Limited to Tees Financial Limited and does not result in any additional cost to the client.
Responsibility for the content of this article and for the provision of mortgage advice rests solely with Henry Dannel Private Clients Limited. This material is intended to be for information purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any mortgage or financial instrument. It is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for accounting, legal or tax advice. The information contained was obtained from Henry Dannell Private Clients Limited, which we consider to be reliable. All information is correct at the time of writing.
Tees is a trading name of Tees Financial Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Registered number 211314, and registered in England and Wales (Company number 4342506).
