A majority of brokers (65%) noticed a rise in bridging loan volume in the third quarter of 2017, the latest broker sentiment survey conducted by mtf has revealed.
This is an increase of the 48% seen in the second quarter, and the geographical spread of bridging loan demand also broadened in the third quarter.
For the first time, 9% of the brokers surveyed cited an increase in demand in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
In addition, the South East saw the biggest demand for bridging loans in the UK at 48% which is a drop from 62% in Q2.
Funding development projects remained to be the most popular reason for taking out a bridging loan for the fourth consecutive quarter at 30%, followed by business purposes at 17%.
James Anderson, head of new business at mtf, said: “There are some excellent firms of solicitors to choose from and many bridging loan lenders, like mtf, use a panel of pre-approved firms to help speed up a bridging loan transaction for the applicant.”
Almost 70% of brokers said the bridging loan process took longer than it did 12 months ago, with 34% suggesting the average length of time it took to complete was 3-4 weeks.
Three quarters of brokers blamed solicitors as the main reason for the delay, followed by the valuer at 13%.
Anderson added: “Speed has always been a vital element in bridging finance and it is important that solicitors understand what is required, so that bridging finance requests can be completed as quickly and accurately as possible.”
