Over two thirds (69%) of brokers have said they are either worried or unsure about their business in the year ahead, Crystal Specialist Finance has found.

As part of a survey of its broker database in December, the firm found that just three in 10 (31%) are confidently looking ahead to 2024, with three quarters (74%) of brokers citing interest rate uncertainty as a key challenge to business growth.

Over three in five (64%) of brokers also said the cost of living crisis would be a challenge, although high inflation does not feature in the listed concerns, despite over half (48%) of brokers citing it in 2022.

Market conditions throughout 2023 were clearly felt by brokers, with just under a quarter (22%) stating that last year was a good year for their business, compared to 48% in 2022.

Almost four in five (77%) said their business was the same or down on the previous year, compared to 53% in 2022.

Managing director at Crystal Specialist Finance, Jo Breeden, said: "[Last year] should have been the return to some form of normality to the market. Instead, we saw continuous Bank of England base rate rises to counter higher than forecast inflation and a consequent cooling of the property market.

"Our research has revealed that brokers remain uncertain about this year, have diversified into new markets to bolster their businesses and see the role of a distributor like Crystal as increasingly important.

"While the wider residential housing market has further to fall as we start 2024, brokers are more confident about the outlook."

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