Welcome to your September update. The picture heading into autumn is a mixed one: borrowing slowed noticeably over the summer and house price growth stayed subdued, but lenders have responded by competing hard on both price and how much they will lend. For anyone buying, remortgaging or expanding a portfolio, that combination is worth understanding.
September and October are usually among the busiest months of the property year. If a move or a refinance is on your list for this side of Christmas, now is the point to get the finance sorted rather than after you have found the property.
Market at a glance
- House price growth, annual (Nationwide, August): +1.6%
- House price growth, monthly (Nationwide, August): +0.2%
- Net mortgage borrowing, July (Bank of England): £4.3bn
- Net mortgage borrowing, June (for comparison): £7.7bn
House prices & national statistics
Prices: steady rather than rising
Nationwide's August index put annual house price growth at 1.6%, broadly unchanged on the previous month, with prices up 0.2% over the month itself. That is a market moving sideways in real terms rather than one going backwards, and it has been the pattern for some time now.
For buyers, subdued growth is not bad news. It means less pressure to make a rushed decision and more room to negotiate than in a fast-rising market. For owners thinking about selling, it means pricing sensibly from the first day of marketing matters more than it did three years ago.
Borrowing slowed sharply over the summer
The Bank of England's latest money and credit figures show net mortgage borrowing by individuals fell to £4.3 billion in July, down from £7.7 billion in June — close to a halving in a single month.
What it means for you. A drop of that size is partly seasonal, but it also tells you lenders are chasing a smaller pool of business than they were in the spring. That is precisely when competition on rates and criteria tends to improve, and it is showing up in the product changes below. Softer demand is usually a borrower's market.
Banks & building societies
Coventry lifts first-time buyer lending to 6.5x income
Coventry for intermediaries has increased its loan-to-income multiple for eligible first-time buyers to 6.5 times income, available on residential purchases up to 95% loan-to-value.
This matters more than a rate cut for many first-time buyers. If the barrier is the size of loan you can get rather than the monthly payment, a higher income multiple can be the difference between buying and not buying. Eligibility conditions apply and not every applicant will qualify, so it is worth a conversation before you assume either way.
Rate cuts across the market
Paragon Bank has cut buy-to-let fixed rates by 15 basis points across both its core and tailored ranges, on two- and five-year fixes,. Principality and HSBC have also announced reductions.
Coming off a fixed rate in the next six months? You can usually secure a new deal three to six months ahead and still move to a better one if pricing improves before completion. Waiting until the month your deal ends removes that option entirely.
Landlord & buy-to-let focus
Buy-to-let pricing is improving
Paragon's 15 basis point cut applies across two- and five-year fixes. Paragon sits in the specialist end of the market, which means these rates are relevant to limited company borrowers and more complex portfolios, not only straightforward single lets.
In our experience the binding constraint on landlord borrowing in London and the South East is rarely the headline rate — it is the interest cover ratio and the stress rate the lender applies. A lower rate helps, but the structure of the case, how the rental income is evidenced and whether you borrow personally or through a company usually make a bigger difference to what you can actually raise.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
HMRC has been writing to people with self-employment and property income about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which applies from 6 April 2026 where turnover is over £50,000, with lower thresholds phased in afterwards. If you receive rental income and have not yet looked at this, it is worth raising with your accountant now rather than at the end of the tax year — the requirement is quarterly digital reporting, which changes how records need to be kept, not just what is filed.
We are not tax advisers. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change; please take advice from a qualified accountant.
Commercial, bridging & change of use
Specialist lenders are still writing business
While mainstream borrowing slowed over the summer, the specialist and short-term end of the market has stayed active. Recent examples include Glenhawk funding £1.12m for the acquisition and refurbishment of a Grade II-listed hotel in Bath, and GB Bank promoting specialist property lending up to £20m across two distinct lending routes.
The read-across is useful: where a property does not fit a high street lender's box — listed, mixed-use, part-vacant, mid-refurbishment — there is still a well-funded market willing to lend against it, at a price.
Funding a conversion
Conversions of redundant commercial space into residential remain a significant source of new stock, and they are rarely a term-mortgage case at the outset. The usual structure is bridging or development finance for the acquisition and works, exiting onto a term buy-to-let, multi-unit or commercial facility once the units are complete, let and the planning position is discharged.
Lenders will want the planning consent, a costed schedule of works, a realistic end value and a credible exit before they commit. Planning rules for commercial-to-residential change of use are also subject to change, so confirm the current position for your site before you rely on it.
If you are looking at a conversion: speak to us before you exchange, not after. The exit finance determines what the acquisition finance can safely look like, and it is far cheaper to find that out at the offer stage.
Sources
Nationwide House Price Index (August 2026); Bank of England Money and Credit statistics (July 2026); HM Revenue & Customs; Mortgage Strategy, 1 September 2026. Figures were correct at the date of publication and may since have been revised or superseded.
To talk through what this means for you, contact us or call 0203 971 1234.
Important: This guide is general information, not personal advice. Rules, rates and lender criteria change; speak to an adviser about your circumstances. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.