Specialist lender Together has raised the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) across its first and second charge mortgage products to 70%.

The finance firm has also reduced the minimum loan size on its second-charge products from £50,000 to £30,000, offering intermediaries more options for their clients looking for lower-value loans.

The new product changes follow feedback from brokers and are available to Together’s key partners and directly to customers.

Sundeep Patel, head of intermediaries at Together, comments: “The housing market remains strong, with average UK asking prices rising by 6.6% in the year to December, and we’re making these changes in response to the current demand for mortgage lending.”

“We have some of the most flexible criteria in the specialist mortgage market, and these latest changes will support those clients whose borrowing needs are not met by high street lenders; these could be self-employed workers or those in employment who’ve had minor credit issues in 2020, possibly caused by the Covid pandemic.”

He says while the stamp duty holiday was introduced in July – bolstering demand for mortgages – the market had been strong before, while house price growth will remain ‘resilient’ into next year.

Patel adds: “We’ve listened to feedback from our trusted partners and are pleased to be introducing these new personal finance products to help more brokers achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients.”

The lender has also made changes to its commercial finance product range by increasing maximum loan sizes on both residential unregulated bridging and buy-to-let mortgages to £2 million (before referral). Previously, loans sizes were £750,000 and £500,000 respectively.

These series of changes follow Together’s announcement earlier in the year that it had lowered rates on its commercial bridging loans to 0.65% (50% LTV and under), while more product updates are expected in the New Year.