In this new series, Warren O’Connell, Head of Business Development for Sourcing at Iress, sits down with some of the UK mortgage market’s movers and shakers to explore their perspectives, predictions, and personal passions driving the industry forward.
This time, Warren chats with Steve Easter, Managing Director for Mortgage & Protection at Fairstone, one of the fastest-growing financial services organisations in the UK and Ireland. Fairstone have been an Iress client for over 10 years, using Xplan Mortgage to source the market for mortgage and protection products effectively.
So, Steve, are you ready for some Home Truths?
Tell us, what’s exciting you most about the UK mortgage market right now?
The market appears to have come back to life, with lenders beginning to innovate once again. While there was an expectation of greater stability, inflation and interest rates are now facing renewed pressure due to the conflict in the Middle East. That said, client activity remains high, and wider global uncertainty is encouraging more customers to seek professional advice. As a result, advisers can look forward to a potentially busy year.
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for brokers and intermediaries in the next 12 months?
Without doubt in the refinance space. With so many maturing products in 2026, it is imperative that brokers concentrate on existing customers ensuring they give a great service.
What’s one industry challenge that you think doesn’t get talked about enough?
Affordability rules are changing to allow clients to borrow more over longer periods, which is great to boost the housing market short-term, but as an industry of professional advisers, it’s vital that we guide our clients correctly to avoid a repeat of the issues we saw back in the 2008 credit crunch.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the mortgage process, what would it be?
I would love it if we could be more joined-up from start to finish. For example, it would be great to have lawyers and conveyancers sharing information to avoid the client having to duplicate information. Also, if the legal process could find a way of speeding things up, that would lessen client stress massively.
What drives you personally in this industry? What keeps you motivated?
Ensuring good outcomes for clients and mentoring young mortgage advisers. It is great to see the young advisers bloom into full-blown mortgage professionals, valuing their time by charging appropriate fees and concentrating on existing clients rather than constantly looking for new clients. Service clients well and they will stay with you for life.
How do you see collaboration shaping the future of the mortgage space?
Collaboration between firms is very important to understand how the wider market reacts to the regular challenges we all face. With consumer duty and the regulators' mortgage rule review, we all need to understand how this impacts the intermediary market as a whole.
Technology has made an enormous difference to the intermediary journey - where do you see the biggest gains still to be made?
The speed of decision making from lenders is becoming quicker all the time. There’s less repetition than ever before due to better data flows, which increases efficiency and reduces risk, but I think this year will see huge steps in technology within the mortgage space. Overall, I think this will improve the client experience by allowing advisers to spend more quality time with clients. This will open the door to having more holistic conversations, giving clients even better outcomes.
How does Iress fit into your strategy, and how do our tools and partnership help you deliver better for your customers?
We use Iress sourcing across our entire business, for annuity quotes as well as mortgage and protection sourcing. Technology changes at a rapid rate, so it’s impossible to keep up with everything, but we are confident that Iress will develop their tech stack in line with existing competitors and new entrants to the market and ensure our advisers and clients receive the best experience available.
What does success look like for you - and for the industry - over the next five years?
The aim is continually build and increase the quality of advice and service delivered by Fairstone to all our clients. As for success within the intermediary space, I would like for the mortgage intermediary industry to be looked upon as a profession that the next generation will aspire to be part of.
Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to intermediaries navigating today’s market, what would it be?
Transform your business by focusing on existing clients. Look after your existing clients by annually reviewing needs and objectives; always review their protection portfolio as lives can change very quickly at times, and don’t forget to value our profession and charge appropriate fees.
Thank you, Steve, for sharing your Home Truths.
At Iress, we have conversations like this every day and through industry meet-ups like our Mortgage Forum. By talking openly in this way, we can develop the right tools and technology to keep brokers and lenders ahead of the opportunities that exist in the mortgage market.
Look out for more Home Truths from our other friends and partners soon.
Would you like to be interviewed by Warren? Email him at warren.o’connell@iress.com
