"The market has sometimes over-egged its own pudding but not in this case, and arguably you could say that this is the time to do exactly that."
Since the lockdown has eased we’ve certainly seen a sustained spike in activity, and this feeds into recent research I read from Masthaven Bank which said that 71% of intermediaries surveyed last month were either confident or very confident about the market’s prospects over the next 12 months.
This, along with the news that many advisory firms are unfurloughing workers and in some cases returning to their offices, appears to show that the mortgage advisory community are going to do everything in their power to not just secure business and process it, but to make the most of any opportunity that comes their way.
And why shouldn’t they? The advisory resilience, that is often spoken about, was always going to come to the fore in such difficult circumstances, and part of this focus is all about ensuring that advice and its benefits can be shouted from the rooftops.
Of course, some people will never get this. I read a piece last month from a personal finance journalist writing in the advisory trade press which essentially disparaged the property/mortgage sector for being positive about the return of the market, the client interest it had generated and future prospects.
What appeared to irk him were property portals reporting on the increased traffic they had seen since the easing of the lockdown was announced, and the boost this might well give to all those dependent on the housing market getting moving again.
This was somehow seen by the journalist as bad form – an industry wanting to promote positive news and wanting to ensure that customers knew it was open for business? The fact that this was people, businesses, organisations essentially trying to secure their own livelihoods appeared to be completely lost on him.
I get the cynicism and scepticism that comes with the job and I also understand that the journalist has probably seen plenty of press releases and research over the years amounting to the same thing. However, no-one could possibly deny that the easing of the lockdown was a pivotal moment for all us stakeholders, that there would be interest in just what public reaction it would get, and of course many are worried about their businesses, their livelihoods and how they might continue to be impacted.
What perhaps makes the comments even more galling is that this was in an adviser-focused publication. Advisers, one would presume, who also have an invested interest in the property/mortgage market performing well. It was a very ‘poor take’ on the journalist’s part – perhaps he would prefer that everyone hide their light under a bushel and no-one promote their industry or try to secure business which would make any bounce back from the lockdown easier?
There’s an important point in all this and it’s based on confidence because no-one can have any doubt that if consumers lack confidence in the housing market, on pricing, on mortgage availability, on their ability to buy, then we all suffer. The market has sometimes over-egged its own pudding but not in this case, and arguably you could say that this is the time to do exactly that.
This market only functions if people have confidence in it and are aware of what they are able to do – even when we are going through a pandemic, and especially when the market has been effectively been shut down for the last two months. Self-promotion in that regards is fully justified because it outlines the availability of property/mortgages and it shows the route that people can take in order to get to their end goal. And to realise that the end goal is achievable in the first place.
The more we can get that message across, and the more options advisers can offer their clients, the more we can be certain of the market returning to strength. I’m not sure anyone should be dissuaded from doing that, especially right now.
