According to HSBC’s UK Broker Barometer, which surveyed over 400 brokers, half of brokers surveyed expected the volume of residential mortgage applications to climb in the next six months.
The report stated that just over a third thought residential mortgage applications will remain at the same level, and only 15% thought residential mortgage applications will decrease.
Looking at the BTL sector, around 41% expected the volume of BTL mortgage applications to remain stable and 45% expected it to slightly fall over the next six months.
Around three-quarters of brokers surveyed predicted that there would be a slight decrease in the base rate over the course of this year, with only 4% saying the base rate would rise and 14% saying it would stay stable.
When asked about their concerns, brokers pointed to the domestic and world economies, political landscape and interest rates.
Just over half of brokers believed AI will play a meaningful role in their business within two years, while one in nine said it is already changing their business.
Majority of brokers say customers are financially resilient
More than half of brokers said they were confident in their customers’ financial resilience, giving them a score of seven out of 10.
An additional 17% said they only felt slightly confident about the financial resilience of their customers.
This means seven out of 10 brokers surveyed are confident in the financial resilience of their customers, HSBC said.
Half of brokers said they believe their mortgage applicants have taken proactive steps to boost their credit score before applying for a mortgage.
Most brokers happy in their jobs
When asked about their career, most brokers were content with their jobs and saw mortgage broking as their long-term career.
Approximately four in 10 said they did not expect to retire until after 70 years old, and a quarter said they expect to retire between 70 and 74 years old. Only 6% said they expect to retire at 60 years old.
There was a mixture of responses, with some saying they wanted to retire earlier due to “job strain” and others saying they wanted to “work indefinitely out of passion”.
Around 58% said they work longer than a typical 9-5 job, and almost half said they work weekends.
Nearly three-quarters said they were happy in the job, scoring their happiness as a seven out of 10 or higher.
Survey is crucial in helping HSBC ‘better support’ brokers and customers
Chris Pearson, head of intermediary mortgages at HSBC UK, said brokers are “very much on the front line and play an integral role in the mortgage market, and we wanted to hear their thoughts, concerns and insights into the wider economy, the mortgage market but also their career”.
He continued: “Understanding their perspectives on the market, customer behaviour, and the impact of emerging technologies like AI is crucial for us to better support them and their clients.
“Our first Broker Barometer has provided a significant amount of reassurance on the financial wellbeing of brokers’ clients and the proactive steps many of them have taken in advance of applying for a mortgage.”
Pearson added: “Like most industries, geopolitics and things outside of our control can have a significant impact on our businesses, so it is not surprising that is a subject that is front of mind, but I am reassured by the high score of the brokers’ ‘Happiness Index’ – with seven in 10 brokers registering very positive feedback on being a mortgage broker – and the fact the vast majority see being a mortgage broker as a viable long-term career option.
“As a bank, we are already using AI widely to do things like improve customer service and increase the efficiency of our processes, but brokers also see the benefit of integrating AI into their business with a significant number already seeing benefits from introducing AI. As applications for AI develop, it is likely to play a larger and larger role in how we all work.”
