Mortgage intermediaries are planning on growing their businesses as they feel more optimistic about the market, a survey from a lender found.
The latest Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report (MIIR) from Paragon Bank showed that 52% of firms were expanding, up from 38% who were doing the same in winter.
There was also a smaller share of firms that said they were scaling back, which fell from 7% at the last survey to 5% this time around.
Brokers who had their own firm were the most optimistic about business, as shown by 91% who said they were either confident or very confident. This was higher than the response of 85% in winter.
Just 65% of intermediaries in the buy-to-let (BTL) market felt confident about the market, but this was higher than a share of 49% previously.
Louisa Sedgwick (pictured), commercial director for mortgages at Paragon Bank, said: “Committing to expanding suggests that intermediary firms feel confident about the future. This is something that our report supports, also highlighting how the brokers we spoke to are now notably more optimistic about various facets of business compared to the start of the year.
“Having direct relationships with clients, the people who are investing in property, means that brokers have an up-to-date picture of the current strength of the market, so an increase in optimism is an encouraging indicator for the rest of the sector.”
Mortgage intermediary recruitment
Most firms are planning to expand through recruitment. Some 27% of mortgage intermediaries said they were hiring experienced advisers, while 17% said their firm was recruiting trainee advisers.
A further 16% said they were employing paraplanners to help advisers with paperwork, while 12% said their company was hiring “other staff”.
A quarter of the survey’s respondents said their company was expanding through new or enhanced marketing. Some 23% of firms were investing in new technology.
Sedgwick added: “It’s great to hear that brokerages are growing. Some are boosting their workforce numbers while others are upskilling existing staff, an approach that ultimately increases the expertise in the sector. In addition, we see that some firms are investing in marketing or technology, helping them to secure and service more business effectively.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
