Over three quarters of UK mortgage brokers (76%) believe the mortgage application process is now faster than it was two years ago, a new study by Nottingham Building Society has shown.

The building society also found that complex cases are still failing at key points in the mortgage journey, however.

Nottingham Building Society conducted a study of 500 UK mortgage brokers and said its findings suggest operational improvements are helping the mainstream process move more quickly but warned that progress thins out when a case needs more judgement.

Automated income or credit checks are now the single most common point at which complex income cases fail or stall, cited by 17% of brokers, which the society said points to applications still being tripped up early when income patterns or credit profiles do not fit a standard template.

A further 16% of brokers said cases break down at the initial affordability assessment or decision-in-principle stage, showing that friction remains high at the point where lenders make early calls on what counts as acceptable income, expenditure, or risk.

According to the findings, delays are proving just as damaging further down the line, as 16% of brokers said time delays are causing cases to fall through, while 14% cited evidence and documentation requirements as a key source of friction, reinforcing the sense that even creditworthy borrowers can lose out when a case takes too long.

“These findings show that the market is making progress, but others are still being left behind,” commented chief lending officer at Nottingham Building Society, Aaron Shinwell.

“Straightforward cases are moving more quickly, which is welcome, yet brokers are still seeing the same pressure points emerge when a borrower’s circumstances need a little more interpretation, whether that is blended income, a career break, variable earnings or a case that simply needs more manual review.”

The research also found that brokers are clear about where lenders should focus next. A third (33%) said that better handling of complex or non-standard cases would have the biggest positive impact on their ability to place business, suggesting the real gap is no longer basic processing speed alone, but how the system responds when an application needs flexibility.

Around a third also called for clearer tracking of case progress (33%), better integration between broker systems and lenders (32%) and faster decision making (32%).

“The next step is targeted improvement at the stages where cases most often come under strain,” added Shinwell.

“That means making automated checks more responsive to real-life income patterns, improving transparency as cases move through the system and reducing delays where extra documentation or judgement is needed. If lenders can get those stages right, they will improve outcomes for brokers and for borrowers whose finances may be more complex, but no less credible.”

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