Mortgage technology must work for brokers, not the other way around

The mortgage market has never stood still, but the pace of change over the past few years has been extraordinary. Borrowers’ lives are more complex, brokers are under increasing pressure, and technology has shifted from being a “nice to have” to a fundamental part of how the market operates.

Yet despite all the innovation we talk about as an industry, there’s a risk we focus on technology for its own sake. Mortgage technology only matters if it genuinely improves outcomes — making the journey simpler, faster and fairer, particularly for brokers, who remain the beating heart of the market.

At Nottingham Building Society, we believe technology must start and end with the intermediary.

Brokers are clear: the system needs to catch up

We regularly engage with brokers to understand how the market is really working at the coalface. What we hear is consistent.

In research we commissioned among 500 UK brokers, nearly three-quarters (74%) said mortgage propositions have not kept pace with how customers’ finances and lifestyles have evolved. More than half (52%) believe lenders have simply been too slow to adapt.

That frustration isn’t abstract. It shows up in rigid criteria, duplicated effort, long application journeys and systems that struggle to reflect real-world income complexity. Brokers don’t want novelty. They want tools that remove friction so they can spend more time advising customers properly.

Encouragingly, brokers are optimistic about what technology can deliver next. Almost a quarter highlighted AI-enabled decisioning and smarter system integration as priorities for lenders. The message is clear: innovation must be practical, not performative.

Technology as an enabler of inclusion

The most important role technology can play is helping the market better reflect real life.

Today’s borrowers increasingly have multiple income streams, contract-based employment, self-employment, or non-linear careers. Yet many lending models are still built around a narrow, traditional view of affordability.

Mortgage technology gives us the opportunity to move beyond static rules and towards more intelligent assessments — all without compromising responsible lending. Used well, data and automation can help identify sustainability, not just simplicity.

For brokers, that means fewer dead ends, clearer outcomes, and greater confidence that systems are working with them, not against them.

Why being intermediary-led matters

Nottingham Building Society is a 100% intermediary-led lender. That isn’t a slogan — it’s a design principle.

Every technology decision we make starts with a simple question: does this make life easier for brokers and improve outcomes for their clients? If it doesn’t, we rethink it.

We’re not trying to remove the human element from mortgage advice. On the contrary, technology should free brokers up to do what only humans can do: understand nuance, support vulnerable customers, and apply judgement where it matters most.

For adviser use only. Please note this content has been supplied by our lender partner and as such, is their responsibility. No party shall have any right of action against Legal & General in relation to the accuracy or completeness of the information in this article.