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Brokers - how confident do you feel at the moment?

Journalist: John Fitzsimons, Freelance

ended 22. August 2023

Hello brokers

Last week data from IMLA found that a massive 96% of mortgage brokers are confident about the prospects of their firms, up from 93% in June https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2023/08/15/intermediary-caseloads-hold-steady-in-q2-imla/

So we would love to get your thoughts on how confident you are feeling about your firm? What areas are you confident about and which are more of a concern? 

What changes have you made or you are in the process of making which will give your business a better foundation for the future?

What would you do differently if you could start this year afresh?

And how confident are you feeling about the state of the mortgage market generally?

Any and all thoughts are very welcome

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Since forming our brokerage 5 years ago we have gone through Brexit, a pandemic, a disaster budget, a war in Europe, a cost of living crisis and now the Bank of England doing all it can to kill the economy. Not only are we still here, but still growing and thriving. As the saying goes, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. We are confident having gone through all the aforementioned in our fledgling years, that we can continue to go from strength to strength.
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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Be interested to see how IMLA obtained their source stats and if it's reflective of the whole broker market as I'm not sure 96% of all brokers are confident of their prospects, more like 96% are happy to still be here as this year pans out. The FCA report on lending issued June 2023, for Q1 of this year outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was 2.7% higher than a year earlier, but a decrease on the previous quarter for the first time since 2017 Q2. I'm more interested in the Mortgage Lending and Administration Return (MLAR) for Q2 released on 12th September, as I foresee continued reductions in mortgage business written. It's too early for me to start putting up the bunting.
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Alastair Hoyne
CEO, Finanze Capital at Finanze Capital
We are exceptionally confident. In fact i'm waking up and jumping out of bed excited for the day. Across our brokerage business we are live on £80m worth of loans. Revenue estimates if all of the live and qualified pipeline complete is close to £1.5m. We are also broadening our reach with having signed two PLC clients and been given very large debt mandates to work on (£100m and £1bn respectively, where revenues on completion will be in the tens of millions). This growth and optimism of our brokerage business is coupled with our lending business completing on it's first loan this month, and another £15m of loans in process. Our focus has now shifted to getting our Business Finance team up and running, as businesses will no doubt continue to suffer due to lack of liquidity in the current economic environment hence making a dedicated push to build out that business and further support our clients. For a firm that works on a referral only basis, the growth is testament to the team skill.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
There seems to be a sense of stability in the market which is all we crave, with fewer outside influences conspiring to make our lives difficult. Certainly it feels like the current government is treading water till they're ousted at the next election so I don't expect to see too much change or disruption before then.
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Anil Mistry
Director and Mortgage Broker at RNR Mortgage Solutions
Our firm was appointed by Primis in March 2021, coinciding with the latter stages of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. We were busy to start with and Covid-19 did not impact us. The onset of the current financial crisis led to a productive period from March to mid-July. A temporary lull followed, likely influenced by the start of the school holidays. However, activity levels have now rebounded, and we anticipate further growth as the year unfolds. Therefore, we are confident, as it appears potential borrowers have accepted the current situation and proceeded with their moving or remortgage plans.
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James Bull
Mortgage Broker at JB Mortgages
High-interest rates continue to have an impact on house purchases, particularly in the buy-to-let sector. However, as an established mortgage brokerage with a large client bank, we are still busy servicing existing clients with remortgages. Looking forward to the future we are investing in our website and are hoping to have it generating enough leads for us to recruit additional advisers in 2024. So overall we are cautiously confident and are hoping to expand next year.