The research was carried out by NOP in December 2002 and covers the period September to November 2002.
MOI KEY FINDINGS:
- 74% of mortgage intermediaries believe service
from lenders has been good over the past quarter,
an improvement of 11% on the previous quarter
- 63% believe mortgage regulation will improve
the prospects of the business they work for. This
is up from 57%
- 65% agree that mortgage sales leads are higher
than this time last year showing the continued
buoyancy of the UK mortgage market
- 79% either agreed or agreed strongly that they
were positive about future mortgage sales
opportunities over the next year.
- The level of mortgage business actually
written decreased by 9% on the previous quarter
but had still increased for 59% of mortgage
intermediaries.
Scott Mowbray, marketing manager at The One account said: "The Mortgage Outlook Index shows that intermediaries believe lenders' service is improving all the time. This is probably because of an increased focus in service standards from lenders who are finding it difficult to compete on product features which can be copied very quickly. Service is clearly going to be
the key selling point in the future.
"With all the talk of a hard landing in the housing market in 2003 and lower levels of mortgage business actually written by intermediaires in the last quarter it is interesting and encouraging to see a robust outlook and improving intermediary confidence when it comes to mortgage sales opportunities over the next year."
He added: "Mortgage regulation continues to hold no fear for intermediaries who appear to be looking forward to the
new regime when finally implemented."
The next Mortgage Outlook Index from The One account will be available in May 2003.
