Advantage Home Loans has revealed that 40% of brokers have experienced a sharp downturn in business since M Day. The recent findings from the survey compound the negative feeling among brokers that business will continue to suffer for some time to come – indeed, one in ten brokers say it could take as long as 12 months for business to pick up again. However, there appears to be a glimmer of optimism with around one fifth of brokers saying business could pick up in the next two weeks and a further 20% believe it may take up to 3 months.
When asked what the main reasons were for the downturn in business, almost half (47%) have blamed systems glitches post M day which have held deals up, 31% say there is an element of general confusion in the market and 22% say there has been a significant drop in consumer demand.
Keith Dearling, Director of branded mortgage arranger Advantage Home Loans says: “Clearly there has been a dip in broker confidence, particularly in the sub-prime arena but we expect this will soon rectify itself post Christmas as the market picks up again. While many brokers fear that business could take 6 months or more to pick up, our feeling is that in fact opportunities will start flowing quite rapidly again in the next 2-3 months. The worry then is that brokers won’t be expecting this quick upturn and therefore won’t be ready to handle the extra business.
“M Day has created much confusion out there and brokers are still coming to grips with the new system of working. Clearly, we suggest that brokers invest their time wisely now to ensure their systems can cope with the post Christmas demand.”
