"These figures suggest advisers are embracing the role that technology can play in the mortgage application process and are recognising the importance of fintech"
21% of brokers cited technology and robo-advice as their greatest challenge, a decline of 28% since last year's survey.
Instead, Brexit was now seen as the biggest challenge to brokers, with 25% of respondents saying this was their biggest concern.
Other challenges picked by mortgage brokers included customer behaviour (21%) and industry disruptors (19%). Lenders were seen as the biggest challenge by just 14% of brokers, however brokers continued to call on lenders to improve their propositions, with 49% citing the need for better service and technology from lenders.
Despite the challenges, including Brexit, brokers remained confident about business and the wider mortgage market. Over a quarter of brokers (28%) said that they expected gross mortgage lending to reach £270bn or above in 2019.
Brokers also held a positive outlook about the fast-growing retirement lending sector in particular, with 78% either already advising on later life lending or thinking about entering the sector.
Kevin Roberts, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “For brokers, technology clearly isn’t the threat they once thought it to be. Instead, these figures suggest advisers are embracing the role that technology can play in the mortgage application process and are recognising the importance of fintech to futureproofing their businesses.
“At Legal & General Mortgage Club, we think technology is essential to the future of the intermediary mortgage market which is why we are committed to creating a truly frictionless mortgage journey.
“The recognition by brokers of the role tech can play in the mortgage lending process is just the first step. As an industry, we now need to work together to make the frictionless mortgage a reality for customers, as well as helping brokers recognise the importance of fintech. If we don’t, outdated processes and inefficiencies could still leave us all at risk from outside competition and disruptors.”
