Data released by HMRC last week showed that the number of residential property transactions fell by 3% between May and June, coming in at just 96,340. Compared with June last year, transaction levels are down a not-insignificant 5.7%.

To cut a long story short, the residential property market is starting to feel as parched as the weather. While remortgaging is pretty active – as households seek to hedge against a potential rate rise – house purchases are dropping off in a classic ‘wait-and-see’ market.

Against this stagnant backdrop, what better time for brokers to increase their exposure to specialist lending, which is positively booming? There’s certainly no shortage of sub-sectors and loan types for them to monetise.

Brokers need to tap into the development narrative and fast, because with the supply deficit so entrenched, the number of developments is only going to increase. Development finance is a massive commercial opportunity.

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The flip side to this particular coin is the increasingly available development exit loan. The number of lenders offering this type of finance is growing by the day, and it’s another simple opportunity for brokers to add value for their developer clients.

Believe it or not, there are even opportunities within buy-to-let. While amateur landlords might be heading for the hills, there’s a fair bit of demand from foreign nationals for buy-to-let at present, partly as a result of ongoing sterling weakness.

For them, the safe haven status of UK property trumps the less attractive taxation regime. And let’s not forget the growing number of landlords who are incorporating their portfolios in order to mitigate the impact of mortgage interest tax relief withdrawal.

And then there’s seconds. Conditions for second charge loans are almost ideal. Households remain heavily indebted, while few want to jeopardise the low mortgage rates they have by remortgaging in order to free up cash. All in all, there are opportunities aplenty with specialist finance: a flat property market does not have to mean a flat income.