Reading the year-end headlines about the mortgage market, you could be forgiven for thinking we’ve all just limped through twelve months of survival. I’m not sure I see it that way. If anything, I think 2025 has shown that the industry is far tougher and more grounded than many gave it credit for.
A year that tested stamina
Base rate cuts have been slow and cautious, a quarter of a per cent here and there, settling us around the 4% mark. It’s high enough to sting but stable enough to plan. Five year fixes have become the comfort zone, and affordability still remains a word that frames almost every conversation. Brokers know the lay of the land by now, with clients wondering why the process feels that much heavier.
House prices haven’t exactly shot forward either, but they’ve held steady, up about 2% year-on-year, and in a market that spent much of 2023 bracing for the worst, I think that counts as progress. I don’t see a crisis in front of us, I see a market adjusting and absorbing what it has learnt.
The borrowers who defined the year
We’ve seen the rise of the later life borrower, and I’d argue that’s one of the most important stories of 2025. According to UK Finance, 33,130 new loans were advanced to borrowers aged over 55 in the second quarter, up just 0.5% on the same period last year, though the total value of lending rose more strongly to £5.2 billion, a 3% annual increase. These are people using property wealth with intent, not impulse, in terms of managing inheritance planning or just smoothing retirement income. It’s a segment that demands a good grasp of human detail, and I think it’s a part of the market that plays to every strength mutuals have.
Then there’s the self-employed, still the most misunderstood group out there. Every time I talk to a broker about a self-employed client, the same theme crops up, the business is sound, but the paperwork is a bit on the patchy side.
Around a third (34%) of applicants in that category were turned down last year, often by systems that can’t see past a short trading history or fluctuating income. That’s where lenders like us come in, by simply using manual underwriting and a touch of common sense.
And the credit impaired? They’re a reality of the economy we’re living in. Rising bills, a wobbly cost-of-living backdrop, it’s easy to see how even well intentioned borrowers slip behind, and this is a narrative that will continue in 2026.
First-time buyers have been one of the more resilient groups this year. With the stamp duty threshold changes, first-time buyer completions in the first quarter of 2025 were about 107,000, representing a 62% year-on-year increase, while activity through the rest of 2025 has been steadier rather than spectacular, with buyers adapting via smaller homes, longer terms and broker led affordability planning.
What we’ve learned
At Buckinghamshire Building Society, we’ve spent the year working on the small but meaningful parts of the process, the moments that usually don’t make headlines but can make or break a broker’s day. We don’t pretend to be perfect, no lender is, but we’ve made a point of listening.
Across the mutual sector, there has been a gradual shift towards more bespoke decision making for borrowers who don’t fit the standard profile. Our Crafted Lending approach reflects that trend, grouping together products that support first time buyers, those with non-standard income and borrowers rebuilding credit histories.
If 2023 was about survival and 2024 about steadiness, then 2025 was about refinement. We realised that progress doesn’t need a fanfare, it just needs follow-through.
The recent Budget brought only modest changes for most homeowners, with the new surcharge on properties above two million pounds and future tax rises on rental income aimed at a small slice of the market. For the bulk of our borrowers, the absence of wider buyer support or stamp duty reform simply confirms what we already know, that progress in 2026 will rest on accurate advice and careful planning.
Looking ahead
Next year, we’ll keep things simple. Clarity in communication, say what we mean and mean what we say. Collaboration with brokers, not just via marketing but through proper dialogue. We’ll continue to host adviser sessions where cases can be discussed live with underwriters in an open conversation. And continue to craft the discipline of lending with care, remembering that a mortgage is not just a file but a family plan, an ambition, sometimes even a lifeline.
We don’t expect perfection from ourselves, but we do expect consistency. Brokers deserve to know where they stand, and clients deserve a process that feels human from start to finish.
