More than a third of brokers (35%) reported seeing an increase in cases that previously would have gone to a high street lender.
Research from Masthaven Bank has found that the pandemic fuelled an increase in demand for bridging finance.
The survey of 140 brokers found that 71% said that awareness of bridging finance is growing, while 51% have seen more customers come to them for bridging finance.
Only 3% reported a decrease in demand for bridging.
More than a third of brokers (35%) reported seeing an increase in cases that previously would have gone to a high street lender.
Respondents felt that disruption to the housing market due to the pandemic (41%) and a rising appetite for DIY and refurbishments (34%) were the main reasons behind growing demand.
Other factors cited were borrowers buying at auction (28%), borrowers looking to raise capital (19%), and borrowers looking to re-bridge (11%).
Richard Deacon, sales director at Masthaven, said: “The pandemic has proved uniquely stressful and disruptive for the UK housing market, even while property prices and transaction levels have climbed to new highs.
"Bridging finance has always been a useful tool, but in the current market it has really come into its own, growing in popularity as both brokers and borrowers look for flexible short-term finance solutions.
"Increasingly, these solutions have come from the specialist sector, which has worked hard to innovate and provide customers with the right tools to navigate this busy period.
“The factors pushing borrowers towards bridging may have been boosted by the pandemic, but they’re not going away any time soon.
"Bridging finance is no longer just an emergency option for borrowers, it has become truly mainstream.
"As awareness of the power and utility of bridging continues to grow, it will be increasingly important that lenders work hard to make their products competitive and accessible.”
