Mortgage Affordability Gap Report Issue 1 — Summer 2026

How identical households receive dramatically different borrowing decisions from the UK’s leading mortgage lenders.

Executive Summary

The Mortgage Affordability Gap Report is the flagship publication of Yellow Brick Research. It examines how identical households can receive dramatically different borrowing decisions from major UK lenders despite no change in property, deposit or financial commitments. This first edition demonstrates why lender choice matters and provides transparent methodology, supporting data and downloadable resources for consumers, advisers and the media.

Yellow Brick Mortgages (2026). Mortgage Affordability Gap Report – Issue 1: Summer 2026. Norwich: Yellow Brick Mortgages.

Key Statistics

£188,000

Core-panel borrowing gap, Household One (10 mainstream lenders)

£135,920

Core-panel borrowing gap, Household Two (10 mainstream lenders)

10

Core mainstream lenders compared

48

Total lender affordability assessments run

Methodology

Two benchmark households were assessed against the same panel of ten mainstream UK lenders, using a recognised affordability research platform. All circumstances were held constant except the composition of household income. Full methodology, including scope and limitations, is set out in Section 4 of the report.

Next edition: Winter 2026/27. This is Issue 1 of an ongoing biannual series – see all Mortgage Affordability Gap Report editions

This publication forms part of the Yellow Brick Research programme. Future editions and new research publications will be released through the Research section of ybmortgages.co.uk. Archived editions remain available as originally published and are not retrospectively amended except to correct factual or typographical errors.