News
Intermediary caseload hits record 103 annual high – Imla
Mortgage brokers placed an average 103 cases a year in the 12 months leading up to Q4 last year, almost a third up against the previous year.
According to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) mortgage market tracker report, this is up from the previous high of 97 in Q3 2021 and the largest average intermediary caseload since research started in 2015.
Confidence in business outlooks remained strong with nearly two thirds, or 62 per cent of brokers stating that they were very confident about the outlook for their firm.
Around 98 per cent of brokers said they were confident overall.
This confidence in the wider intermediary sector also stayed high, with 96 per cent saying they were very confident or confident, which is in-line with 97 per cent in Q3 2021.
Market Moves: Understanding UK Housing Trends
Introducing the first in our video series “Market Moves: Understanding UK Housing Trends” The
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
However, the report noted that confidence in the outlook for the mortgage industry fell to 42 per cent in Q4 2021 from 46 per cent in the prior quarter, which was a record high,
The report found that the average number of decisions in principle (DIPs) in November dropped to 26 per intermediary, and then rose to 32 per intermediary in December.
In 2021, residential mortgages accounted for 65 per cent of cases throughout the year, buy to let made up 27 per cent cases and specialist lending came to eight per cent of cases.
Kate Davies (pictured), executive director at IMLA, said: “As caseload volumes increased to set new records in Q4 2021, despite the months following the conclusion of the stamp duty holiday expected to be quieter compared to 2021 as a whole, advisers have a solid foundation to begin 2022.”
She continued that with inflation expected to reach seven per cent in April and interest rates predicted to rise it expected demand to remain strong in the mortgage market as borrowers opt for fixed rate deals and those with complex financial situations seek help.
Davies said: “Independent financial advice will be crucial for these customers, and advisers will play an important role in helping them to find the most suitable, and affordable, deal.”