This year has the potential to be “one of the strongest years the mortgage industry has experienced” if it is willing to embrace technology, members of the Society of Mortgage Professionals have said.
Board members Prolific Mortgage Finance managing director, Lea Karasavvas, and Halifax head of intermediaries, Amanda Bryden, said this year could be defined by innovation, stability, and renewed confidence.
“At the heart of this progress will be technology and the willingness of brokers, lenders, and customers alike to embrace it,” they said.
If 2025 was the year lenders embraced AI, 2026 is shaping up to be the year they master it.
“The learning curve remains steep, but the appetite for innovation is accelerating.
“Those who integrate AI most effectively into underwriting, document assessment, risk modelling, and customer experience stand to significantly increase their market share,” they explained.
“Faster systems create opportunities to transact at scale, and given the competitive landscape, lenders are well aware of this.”
Karasavvas and Bryden suggested the willingness of brokers, lenders, and customers to embrace this new technology would be “at the heart” of making the upcoming year the strongest for the market.
“If collaboration with AI continues to evolve as anticipated, the mortgage process will become faster, smarter, and more seamless than ever before,” they continued.
“With that evolution, the industry stands ready to enter a new era, one where efficiency meets opportunity, and where both brokers and borrowers can look ahead with optimism.”
Looking back on 2025
Optimism for the future comes off the back of a positive 2025.
For several years prior, brokers had been navigating “one of the most challenging environments in recent memory” as clients who had secured ultra-low rates suddenly found rates climb into the 5 per cent range.
“This period brought with it significant ‘payment shock’, and the role of the broker extended far beyond simply advising and recommending products. It became part financial counselling, part expectation management, and part reassurance,” they said.
“But 2025 marked a clear pivot point.”
Karasavvas and Bryden explained while the year opened with a base rate of 4.75 per cent, that had fallen to around 4 per cent by the end of the year, causing mortgage rates to tumble with some lenders offering 2-year fixes as low as 3.51 per cent.
“This shift transformed the broker-client conversation”.
The pair explained that, after years of preparing borrowers for higher payments, brokers were now able to discuss savings with their clients.
“Monthly mortgage costs were falling, affordability was improving, and many clients were, for the first time in a long time, able to redirect funds towards savings, investments or simply increased financial breathing room,” they stated.
“It was a welcome and refreshing change after the turbulence of 2023 and 2024.”
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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