Intermediary confidence has increased once again in Q2 2024 as business volumes continue to grow, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has revealed.
The association’s mortgage market tracker revealed that brokers processed an average of 102 cases in the year to June, an annual figure last reached in 2021.
In terms of confidence, 29% of advisers described themselves as "very confident", while 65% said they were "fairly confident" about the future in Q2 2024. This compared to 24% and 62% respectively in the previous quarter.
Intermediaries appeared more confident, with over half (54%) saying they were "very confident" and 43% saying they were "fairly confident".
IMLA added that the share of advisers who said they were "not very" or "not at all" confident remained marginally, having fallen to almost noting in Q1, which is a result seen since Q2 2021.
The average number of mortgage cases placed by intermediaries on an annual basis increased to 96, a rise of four quarter-on-quarter, which the association said reflects Bank of England figures.
The average number of decisions in principle that intermediaries processed grew strongly, up by 10 during Q2 at 33, which is a level not seen in two years, surpassing the August 2023 peak of 30.
Executive director at IMLA, Kate Davies, said: "These results reflect not just increased activity in the mortgage market but greater positivity about the future than we have seen for some time.
"It is encouraging to see that business volumes have been sustained across all sectors. Despite predictions of a mass exodus of landlords from the buy-to-let market, and concern that affordability challenges would deter all but a few of the wealthiest first-time buyers, there has been no discernible reduction in overall cases in either sector. Intermediaries have been working harder than ever to find the most suitable solutions for their customers across the sectors, which has no doubt played an important part in maintaining these numbers.
"These results reflect the period before the change of government and before the Bank of England made its first interest rate cut since March 2020. We will be watching with interest to see whether the next mortgage market tracker reveals an even more positive outlook for our industry."
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