So, what are the hot topics and whats new?

Lenders have begun to apply these rises into their rates across all sectors which is no surprise however interestingly the high street rates and specialist banks are much closer in price today than we have seen before. In my opinion this gives the specialist lenders an edge over the high street banks because they offer more flexible funding (longer payment terms and interest only with loan to values typically 10-15% higher). The ability for these lenders to provide competitive fixed options is essential however one of the places it’s been lacking is the commercial mortgage market and we are grateful to see that some of our lenders have quickly introduced new fixed ranges. Within NapeX having a wide base of lenders is essential to ensure we get the most competitive rates for our clients and again we welcome to the panel a new building society entering the market with a full offering from residential to commercial and we are also excited for the launch of a new bank to be announced later this month.

We have seen a sharp rise in business purchasing their premises and refinancing over the last 24 months. We are delighted to announce the launch of a new 80% loan to value product for trading businesses, with flexible payment options and competitive pricing. What’s great to see is the range of different types of commercial property we organise finance for with funding recently provided for a farm, lodge house, holiday complex, sports field, and a charity to name just a few.

We have a wealth of lenders in this space which spans upwards of 45, and we have seen a considered move by a large amount of them to move towards 70% of gross development value with the mezzanine market becoming more competitive on rates (gearing available to 80% gross development value.)

Our in-house development modelling continues to be highly popular with our clients looking at viability of the scheme as well as finance options for both investment and sales. Our model can look at buying with or without finance and we welcome any clients who want to see a demonstration.

Rates continue to fall with loan to values now reaching 80%. Pricing continues to be highly competitive in all property classes often closer to the longer-term rates. We’ve seen a sharp rise in 2^nd charge bridging and commercial property requirements with many of our clients looking to find value in change of use.

We have a wide panel of lenders in the bridging space however we are starting to see the importance of lenders with different funding sources i.e., our private lenders. Why? Our clients are often looking at a wide variety of properties and we need lenders to have a wider opinion of risk i.e., a client buying a vacant care home or short-term funding for a holiday park to name a few.