UK intermediaries plan to ‘weather the storm’ of political upheaval

Intermediaries believe they can hold out against the uncertainty being caused by Brexit and the general election, according to the Intermediary Mortgage Lending Association (IMLA).

Its latest Mortgage Market Tracker found that 91% of mortgage intermediaries were either ‘very confident’ or ‘fairly confident’ about the outlook for the mortgage industry.

The research also revealed that 95% of brokers were particularly positive about the outlook for the intermediary-led mortgage market, while 96% were also very or fairly confident about future prospects for their own business.

“Continuing political uncertainty has failed to dent the confidence of mortgage brokers,” Kate Davies, executive director of the IMLA, comments.

“Intermediaries remain confident that they are well-placed to weather the storm of political uncertainty. Brokers are upbeat about the prospects for Britain’s mortgage market.”

In addition, gross lending on all mortgages has increased each quarter since Q1 2019, reaching £70.4 billion in Q3 2019, according to the Bank of England.

Despite the dampened activity during summer in the third quarter of the year, the average number of cases intermediaries handle annually remains in the mid-80s.

On average, 66% of this activity was made up of residential cases, including remortgaging, home movers and first-time buyers, while buy-to-let covered a quarter of all activity. Specialist cases, such as diverse credit, made up the remaining 9%.

Davies adds: “Even with the typically quieter summer months, there is still sustained demand from people wanting to see a mortgage broker. Whether they are a straightforward first-time buyer, have complex circumstances or are looking to remortgage, consumers are relying on the expertise of intermediaries to find the right mortgage product.”