Optimism among intermediaries also growing
More than half of mortgage intermediary firms are expanding, reflecting growing optimism among brokers, Paragon Bank research has revealed.
The summer edition of Paragon Bank’s Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report showed that 51% of firms are currently expanding, up from 38% in the winter edition of the report.
In contrast, the proportion of firms scaling back has fallen from 7% to 5% over the same period.
The most common growth strategy is recruitment, with over a quarter (27%) of intermediaries reporting hiring experienced advisers, while 17% are employing more trainee advisers. In addition, 16% noted the use of additional paraplanners to assist with paperwork, and 12% indicated an increase in ‘other staff’ to bolster their teams.
Paragon’s intermediary insight report, based on its survey of over 200 mortgage brokers, also found that 25% of mortgage intermediary businesses are expanding operations through new or enhanced marketing efforts, and 23% are investing in additional technology.
“It’s great to hear that brokerages are growing,” said Louisa Sedgwick (pictured), commercial director for mortgages at Paragon Bank. “Some are boosting their workforce numbers while others are upskilling existing staff, an approach that ultimately increases the expertise in the sector. In addition, we see that some firms are investing in marketing or technology, helping them to secure and service more business effectively.”
The report also indicated growing optimism among mortgage intermediaries. Brokers expressed increased confidence in the prospects of the mortgage industry, the intermediary sector, their own firms, and the buy-to-let market compared to the winter edition of the report.
“Committing to expanding suggests that intermediary firms feel confident about the future,” Sedgwick said. “This is something that our report supports, also highlighting how the brokers we spoke to are now notably more optimistic about various facets of business compared to the start of the year.
“Having direct relationships with clients, the people who are investing in property, means that brokers have an up-to-date picture of the current strength of the market, so an increase in optimism is an encouraging indicator for the rest of the sector.”
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