The survey gathers conclusions from its current broker and service provider partners and aims to highlight the challenges faced in the development market, shedding light on emerging opportunities.

Key reported metrics include the average LTVs, rates and loan terms across the first half of this year for development and unregulated bridging.

Other findings include the spread of fixed and floating rates available in the market — with 61% of respondents reporting seeing more fixed rates for bridging and 58% for development — rate sensitivity did not seem as important when compared with the certainty of completion in 2023.

The report also highlights circumstances that have contributed to a slowdown in the development finance market, including increases in development costs; material delays; reduced property valuations; delays in obtaining planning permission; and increased interest rates.

The Avamore research suggests that while confidence has been impacted more recently, sentiments moving forwards are mixed.

The survey also reveals opportunities available to developers, dependent on the outcome of the next six months.

•   Hilltop launches real estate funding and management platform
•   Avamore completes £763,000 development loan with LDN Finance
•   Avamore completes three deals worth over £2.6m for repeat borrower

The report claims with the current inflation drop  — which could allow the base rate to come down — there is a chance to get out of the starting blocks early to snap up cheap sites from either a general fall in house prices, or the increased number of properties in receivership.

For those who are more cautious, the rising trend of sales guarantees  was picked out as the potential next big thing, as this promises a firm exit for both housebuilders and lenders, with speculative risks removed.

As a relatively new strategy, it was noted that it could take some time for the lender market to gain comfort in this space.

For those still on the fence, many responded that the evolution of housing could force developers to make moves, for example the introduction of EPC benchmarks, which could push developers into greener action and could propel the refurbishment market in the months to come.

D’mitri Zaprzala, CEO at Avamore, commented: “Conducting this survey and seeing how the events of 2023 so far have affected various areas of the market has been insightful.

“It’s clear it’s been challenging across the board but what’s exciting are the opportunities that have emerged from these.

“While it could be easy to feel like there are limited options, this really is a time when the specialist finance industry can thrive.”