Q2 business increase gives mortgage intermediaries reason to smile

Published: 05/09/2011

Nearly one in five mortgage intermediaries have enjoyed a significant increase in business in the past three months, a recent survey has revealed.

Of the 617 mortgage brokers questioned, nearly one in five said that “over half of the clients they have seen in the past three months were talking to a mortgage adviser for the first time”¹ while a third stated “between a quarter and a half of their clients in the last quarter had never been to a mortgage broker before”¹.

These promising findings are in line with the latest figures from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Both the volume and value of loans via intermediaries increased in Q2. The number of first time buyer loans via intermediaries was up 25 per cent, from 24,000 to 30,000 with the value of these loans up 30 per cent, from £2.1bn to £3.5bn. Home mover loans via intermediaries increased by 24 per cent, from 33,000 to 41,000, with the value up 26 per cent, from £5.4bn to £6.8bn.

Charles Morley, Head of Sales at Kensington who commissioned the survey said:

“It is incredibly encouraging that so many intermediaries are seeing such a large proportion of clients who have never sought the help of an adviser before.

“This shows that more borrowers are recognising the benefits of professional advice, both in terms of helping them to make the right decision, but also in accessing lenders that are able to offer intelligent lending, rather than a one-size fits all tick box approach.

“I would recommend that intermediaries take this information on board and use it to go out and promote their services to new customers. There is clearly a previously untapped appetite for mortgage advice out there and this could fuel business growth, which looks very much like a flat market in the coming months.”¹

Source:
¹Mortgage Strategy (Aug 2011)

Content correct at time of publication