MIIR’s summer edition highlights how improving business levels has seen confidence amongst intermediaries return, encouraging firms to expand operations. 

Following a period of fiscal and political uncertainty at home and abroad, the summer edition of the Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report reveals a sense of optimism is returning to mortgage brokers.

The Summer edition of the Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report, based on a survey of over 200 mortgage brokers, reveals that:

• The average number of mortgages placed by intermediaries during the previous 12-month period has increased from 86 to 111
• Split evenly between new business and renewals, residential mortgages are the main source of business, followed by buy-to-let
• Affordability is the main barrier brokers face in placing more buy-to-let business

The research also reveals how the current state of the property market is influencing the intermediary outlook for various aspects of business and how this, in turn, shapes their plans for the future, finding:

• Brokers anticipate product switches to be the most likely business growth area over the next six months
• Compared to the Winter edition of MIIR, mortgage intermediaries are now notably more confident about various aspects of business
• Over half, 51%, of intermediaries say that their firms are expanding

Louisa Sedgwick, Paragon Bank’s Commercial Director for Mortgages, said: “While we’re yet to see any reduction to Bank Base Rate, the economic picture has improved throughout 2024 and this is reflected in an uptick in business volumes across both residential and buy-to-let property markets.

“Looking at buy-to-let specifically, intermediaries have reinforced our understanding of affordability being the most prominent challenge facing landlords. As we see rates continue to come down, brokers largely anticipate purchases, remortgaging and product switch volumes to rise or stay the same, rather than fall over the next year.

“This is helping intermediaries to feel markedly more confident than they did at the start of the year and more are expanding or upskilling existing staff as a result.”