Swiftly after mortgage regulation took effect on 31 October 2004, it was reported some providers, packagers and brokers had experienced as much as a 30 per cent drop in business levels as the impact of regulation took hold.
But Mike Fitzgerald, sales director at Brentchase Financial Services, told Mortgage Introducer his firm is experiencing the highest levels of business since regulation started and feels that firms may be over the worst, in terms of the sluggish business levels experienced when ‘Mortgage Day’ hit.
Fitzegerald said: “We are at our busiest since regulation began. ‘Mortgage Day’ definitely had a negative impact on the amount of business brokers were doing but things are picking up now. The business is mainly remortgages but we are certainly seeing the tide change.”
Simon Chalk, mortgage planner at Mortgage Portfolio Services, agreed. “We are most definitely at our busiest since ‘Mortgage Day’. This month is actually the busiest we’ve had for about two years.
“We are doing a lot of commercial and lifetime deals, as well as remortgaging. But the first-time buyer and purchaser market is still pretty dead.”
But Kevin Morgan, managing director at Consilium Financial Planning, said advisers still need to be braced for more upheaval. “For those advisers with their feet in both the IFA and mortgage broker camps we still have to deal with depolarisation next month. It is all just beginning for us.”
