"Broker confidence is holding up well and that’s such an important part of the market, as it directly feeds through into the conversations intermediaries are having with customers."
71% of intermediaries surveyed in May said they were either confident (65%) or very confident (6%) in the market’s prospects for the next 12 months, while a quarter (25%) said they were unsure.
Only 3% of intermediaries surveyed said they were not confident in the market’s prospects for the coming year.
The survey also found that more than half (51%) of specialist lending intermediaries are now using video calls to liaise with their customers, while 42% are sending regular email updates. A small proportion of brokers have introduced live chat platforms on their websites (4%) or extended their opening hours (2%) since the start of the pandemic.
Additionally, nearly a third (32%) of specialist lending intermediaries said that they are recommending lenders based on their access to reliable funding.
Rob Barnard, director of intermediaries at Masthaven Bank, said: “Broker confidence is holding up well and that’s such an important part of the market, as it directly feeds through into the conversations intermediaries are having with customers. Now that the housing market has reopened and with the news that mortgage payment relief may be extended to help those customers in need, it’s good to see positive sentiment for the next twelve months from the intermediary community.”
