Positive industry outlook – UK intermediaries remain confident

The vast majority of UK intermediaries (91%) remain positive about the outlook for the mortgage industry despite ongoing political uncertainty, according to The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA).

The representative trade body for mortgage lenders found that sentiment among UK intermediaries remained positive in the second quarter of 2019.

When asked about the outlook for the intermediary sector, 93% of intermediaries felt it was ‘positive’, and more than half (55%) were ‘very confident’ about the outlook for their own business.

Despite structural changes in the market, which may lead to more non-advised businesses, intermediaries have stated that case load volumes have continued to increase steadily.

In fact, over the last three quarters, activity has risen to an average of 87 cases per year, closing in on the highest levels seen since Q2 2019.

In total, two-thirds of intermediary activity (66%) was made up of residential cases, including remortgaging, first-time buyers and movers.

Kate Davies, executive director of the IMLA, comments: “It’s clear that most intermediaries feel very positive about the outlook for the UK mortgage sector and it’s no surprise to us that demand has continued to remain strong.”

“There is a huge range of products out there and intermediaries can give borrowers a great service, helping them to negotiate their options and find the right product.”

She adds: “Consumers’ circumstances are also becoming increasingly complex and intermediaries are ideally placed to help identify products offered by specialist lenders to help access the finance they need.”