LONDON (CU)_Over the past few months, particularly in the second quarter of this year, more and more lenders in the United Kingdom piled into the mortgage market, as economic activity in the country began to revive following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they did fear demand in the £1.6 trillion market may see a sharp decline after the withdrawal of a temporary stamp duty holiday which was launched in July last year, in response to the global health crisis. Instead, they now face an unexpected challenge: catering to soaring demand while maintaining profitability.
Despite the expiration of the tax holiday more than a month ago, demand in the mortgage market has proved so robust that more lenders want a piece of it. “Back in January we still had the second wave just hitting, banks were still concerned about the economy, unemployment and what that would do to house prices,” Clifford Abrahams, Chief Financial Officer at Virgin Money, said. “Now the vaccine rollout has been a success, the housing market has been very robust, that surprised everybody.”
However, this has meant that lenders in the UK…
