The study, conducted for Mortgage Solutions, found the typical adviser successfully placed 74 mortgage cases in the year to November 2013. This was a 17% rise on the 63 averaged in the previous 12 month period.
Looking forward, advisers anticipated further improvement in the near future with 97% of respondents indicating they expected business to rise. This compared with 89% at the same point last year and under 80% in 2008.
Tony Wornell, director of BDRC Continental, said the average broker could top 80 cases in the next 12 months, the highest level seen since the financial crisis.
“Since the end of last year, intermediaries’ confidence has stepped up again,” he said. “In November 2013, virtually all intermediaries interviewed via Project Mercury (97%) expressed confidence in the business outlook for their firms, including 62% who felt ‘very confident’ about the outlook.
“If this confidence is well grounded, then intermediaries can look forward to a further rise in the average number of cases placed over the next 12 months, potentially returning to the 80+ cases per annum last seen in early 2008.”
Wornell added the end of the Funding for Lending Scheme mortgage element was likely to cause a rise in rates but this could stimulate the remortgage market and lead to more opportunities for advisers.
