It's important that we don’t get too carried away, but it’s highly encouraging to see lenders steadily returning to the market and new products emerging. Of course, we’re still far away from pre-lockdown market conditions and it will be some time until those heights are reached once again. However, business is still being written and the value of expert advice in getting these deals over the line has never been higher.

Our specialist mortgage team is fully aware of which lenders are currently open for business, accepting applications and fully supporting these through to completion. As a mortgage club, we are always looking to work with lenders who are flexible in their approach and able to adapt to ever-changing market conditions, and that’s why we are constantly reviewing our lending panel. One addition we have made in recent weeks is Newcastle Intermediaries as this is a lender which is still allowing remortgages up to 80% LTV, offers flexible criteria for the newly self-employed and has no maximum age restrictions for buy-to-let applications.

That’s not to point the finger at lenders who have halted new lending in this transitional period. Individual lenders have been forced to make tough decisions. Some of the toughest have been made by those who had to take a step back from the market because they were/are temporarily struggling with logistics, funding, pricing, and a lack of physical valuations. As long as these decisions were made with the best intentions – with full transparency and pipeline business being dealt with in a responsible manner – then this is perfectly reasonable and sensible behaviour.

So, let’s hail those who have continued lending where possible in the right way, and also those who are regrouping to find solutions which will better support a range of borrowing requirements now, and in the future.