Mortgages available direct from banks or building societies now account for more than 50% of all the products on the market compared to less than 22% in 2007.
According to research by Defaqto, direct deals have grown to record levels over the past two years.
Prior to the credit crunch, a greater choice of mortgage products was available through mortgage intermediaries, including sub-prime, specialist, self-cert, self-employed and buy-to-let mortgages.
Now, most of these products have disappeared and direct deals dominate the market. Mainstream lenders are choosing to use all of the spare capacity in their branch networks to sell mortgages direct to borrowers, while also pushing the use of their cheaper telephone and online channels.
Kevin Bray, insight analyst for banking at Defaqto, said: “Our research shows that 12 of the top 20 best buy fixed rate mortgage products are only available directly from the provider.
“The steady growth in direct-only products over the last two years has clearly placed mortgage brokers at a disadvantage but it also leaves consumers with a difficult choice to make.
“Do they seek the advice of a mortgage intermediary or do they do their own research and approach the provider directly?”
Bray added: “Mortgage intermediaries play an important role in helping buyers through the house buying process but consumers need to ensure that the broker they are using will advise them of the best deals in the market including direct-only products.”
