Of the 200 intermediaries who took part in Paragon's survey, 43% said that in their view there had been no change to their business volumes as a result of MMR and 24% said that business had increased. However, a quarter (25%) of those surveyed said they had experienced a decrease.
The majority of intermediaries who said they had experienced a decrease reported this had been up to 30% and only 14% said the decrease in business had been any higher. Looking ahead, 15% of intermediaries said they did not know what the long-term impacts of the new regulations would be.
Intermediaries were also asked which of their customers are now the most difficult to find a mortgage for. Top of the list were the self-employed (75%), followed by retired customers (52%) and over half of intermediaries (51%) said it was those customers with complex incomes.
John Heron, Director of Paragon Mortgages, said:
“The research from the first quarter is really interesting. What it shows is there is still some uncertainty in the market about the long-term impact the MMR changes will have on business volumes. This isn’t unexpected, as with any significant change in regulation there will always be a period of adjustment, but it is important the industry monitors this carefully.
“Looking at the feedback from intermediaries on the underserved areas of the market also provides a valuable insight into what lenders could be doing better. We need to recognise that there is no such thing as the average mortgage customer anymore, people have a greater variety of circumstances and we need to be more innovative in order to meet increasingly varied demand from customers.”
