Newcastle and Rely aim to drum up more business

Newcastle for Intermediaries has extended its Affordability Boost proposition to new-build purchase applications up to 95% LTV.

The feature allows customers who select a qualifying longer-term fixed-rate mortgage to benefit from an affordability assessment aligned with the product’s longer-term payment certainty, the company says.

Extending Affordability Boost to 95% LTV new build purchases will support customers ready to buy but who may be constrained by affordability challenges or the size of their deposit following impacts such as the withdrawal of Help to Buy and inflationary pressure on property prices.

 One of the biggest barriers

Michelle Ash, national account manager at Newcastle Building Society, said: “For many customers, affordability is still one of the biggest hurdles to getting on the property ladder or moving home, especially when buying a new build. Even when they’re financially ready to buy, higher rates and deposit requirements can make it difficult to access the borrowing they need.”

“By extending Affordability Boost to eligible new-build purchases up to 95% LTV, we’re giving brokers another way to help suitable clients achieve their home ownership goals. Alongside options such as Joint Mortgage Sole Proprietor (JMSP) for new build purchases, this latest enhancement broadens the support available to customers who are constrained by affordability or deposit size, while still offering the longer-term payment certainty that many borrowers value.”

New Limited Edition range

Specialist buy-to-let lender Rely, which is part of OSB Group, has launched a new Limited Edition product range for large portfolio landlords with 11 or more properties, offering rates up to 40bps lower than comparable products in the standard range. They are available on two- and five-year fixed rate options with a 5% fee at 75% LTV.

As well as the new Limited Edition range, it has also introduced new low LTV products for landlords with four or more mortgaged properties, available at 60% and 65% LTV. These offer discounts of up to 15bps against current equivalent standard products, on two- and five-year fixed-rate options.

Previously, Rely launched low LTV products for landlords with three or fewer mortgaged properties in July. It says positive broker feedback received from the July launch prompted it to launch the new products.

Rely launched last November

Rely was launched as a new brand by OSB Group last November and now serves all the group’s new buy-to-let borrowers. OSB withdrew a number of other brands at the end of 2025 as part of a strategy to simplify its brand portfolio.

In August at its second-half results announcement, the wider OSB Group said that buy-to-let accounted for 68% of its total loan book for the period, the same proportion seen for the full year in 2025.