Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.
Mortgage rate hikes dominate the week's most-read stories
A continuing streak of mortgage rate increases proved the biggest draw for readers of Mortgage Solutions this week. A round-up headlined "Mortgage rate 'shock' as HSBC, Santander and Nationwide hike rates" topped the publication's list of the ten most-read mortgage broker stories for the week ending 18 September 2026.
The list, compiled by Mortgage Solutions and written by Shekina Tuahene, also featured a second round-up noting that lenders were getting ahead of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee with more rate increases. Moneyfacts commentary on the second wave of hikes cited "growing concerns surrounding inflationary pressures".
Base rate debate and other stories
Interest in rate movements extended beyond lender pricing. Sebastian Murphy of JLM shared his view on the base rate decision in a piece examining Huw Pill's stated wish for the bank base rate to rise and what that would achieve.
Other popular stories included a second set of photographs from the annual Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) dinner, and a broker perspective piece identifying archaic systems and poor communication as key bugbears for brokers.
People moves and market data
The round-up also covered a range of lender and industry developments. Hunnisett was reported to have left April Mortgages, while Nationwide appointed a new head of intermediary sales following Briffitt's retirement. Triodos appointed Wilson as a senior relationship manager.
On the data side, Mortgage Solutions reported that a fall in adviser numbers caused a 3% drop in LSL Financial Services' half-year revenue. Elsewhere on the site, a separate story noted that conveyancer numbers have declined by almost 16% in five years.
What this means for letting agents and inventory clerks
Continued rate increases and lender repricing can affect buy-to-let affordability and landlord decision-making, which in turn shapes portfolio changes, tenancy turnover and handover activity. Declining adviser and conveyancer numbers may also slow transaction processes downstream. Agents and inventory clerks should monitor these trends as landlords respond to changing financing conditions.
Source: Mortgage Solutions