Page 52 - Future Demands Jan 2021

This should hopefully coincide with an increase in confidence from lenders, after a notable reduction in products since the first lockdown.
Whilst Accord has been committed to lending throughout, re-introducing products just days after physical valuations resumed and offering 90% loan-to-value (LTV) in ‘pulses’ until we were able to relaunch 90% LTV products back into our core range, it’s great that we are now seeing increased competition and a broader choice for consumers in higher LTV products, which can only be a good thing for brokers and their clients.
For example, we’ve seen this when deploying new broker support services throughout the pandemic. From better online communication, to expansion of our underwriting team, we’ve built solutions around what brokers need at that moment. Subsequently, we delivered increased capacity, reduced rates and improved criteria.
We’ve also seen it in the way brokers have adapted, demonstrating incredible resilience over the past year, not just doing the near impossible job of staying informed in the rapidly changing landscape,
So much so, we are committed to doing what we can to further help advisers, and we’ve just launched our brand new Growth Series ‘hub’ and Growth Series Live events, which offer free masterclasses on a variety of topics to help brokers build their businesses.
One thing I hope won’t change next year as things begin to look more ‘normal’ is the value of the broker. Never has advice been more important to help consider all the options, highlight the available solutions and offer support throughout the entire process.
FUTURE DEMANDS
“THE VOLUME OF APPLICATIONS WE’VE CONSISTENTLY SEEN SINCE MAY CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES HOW MANY OF US HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE LIFESTYLE CHANGES.”
If there is one other word that 2020 forced our industry to review our relationshipwith,it’s‘innovation’,and those that embrace this will continue to set the bar for the rest in 2021 and beyond.
I’ve found it inspiring to see how different parts of our industry have responded to the challenge to find creativesolutions,andunderstanding how the ongoing situation creates new needs for our customers is something we as an industry will have to focus on every day.
but really considering how they could better support clients – often upskilling to offer brand new services.
We’ve seen this in our Growth Series, where we have a library of free broker learning tools, including podcasts, blogs and guides filled with market insight and industry experts.Membershipreached7,000 last year, and it’s been humbling to see how the people that keep our industry moving have embraced their development.
Because, with so much uncertainty home buyers have never needed trusted advisors more, and it’s these that I personally feel will be the difference-makers in 2021 and beyond.
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