The vast majority of intermediaries are confident about the housing market over the next two years, despite the Council of Mortgage Lender’s (CML) figures showing the number of first-time buyers has decreased by 10% in the last year, according to Preferred Mortgages.
Its Sub-Prime Mortgage Report claims 65% of intermediaries surveyed have confidence in the market, while 84% of IFAs and mortgage brokers intended to remain in the industry. The directly authorised route is the most popular, with 59% expecting to become directly authorised while another 21% would like to become authorised representatives. Only 4% expect to become introducer-only for mortgages.
Simon Biddle, marketing development manager at Preferred Mortgages, said: ‘It is very positive news for the sub-prime market with IFAs and mortgage brokers holding a vast amount of knowledge and expertise on the market and the products on offer. The borrower would have suffered considerably if regulation had driven out intermediaries.’