The event kicked off with Hayley McQueen from Sky Sports News presenting, as she opened with jokes at the expense of Sky, saying they feel wearing purple is “very important.”
Economist Roger Bootle predicted dramatic shifts in the market, including a potential housing market crash.
Bootle said: “Somewhere out there in the future; three, four or five years’ time, we are going to have one of two events.
“We’re either going to have a housing market crash – big falls in house price sustained over time to get this ratio back to normal.
"Or the government is going to preside over a period of higher inflation, including higher wage inflation, accompanied by a weaker exchange rate in order to bail the market out and restore this relationship without house prices falling."
David Cartwright of Defaqto expanded on Bootle’s speech, accusing help to buy of creating an “anomaly” in the market.
The ex-adviser said: “The number of 95% mortgages have increased over the last 12 months probably from the support given by the government.”
Tenet chief executive Martin Greenwood opened the conference by celebrating a market increase of 35% from last year, with the group generating earnings of £1m.
He invited the possibility of the group expanding by purchasing other firms in the coming year.
Greenwood said: "We will continue to try and grow these brands organically but we will also consider the possibility of growth through acquisition."
Gemma Harle, managing director of TenetLime, was on hand to give brokers more detailed instructions in preparing for the Mortgage Market Review.
She said brokers needed to be careful of causing fraud.
Harle said: “If you input a case on their system, and the data does not match up 100% to the evidence that you provide, that equals potential fraud in their eyes.
“How you protect yourself is get everything up front, particularly credit searches. You can defend yourself, you can say: “No, the customer told me this.”
She also raised concerns regarding how lenders were responding to the “cultural shift” of MMR, saying things had gone very quiet.
“We have not been advised by any lender as to any additional information or changes that will be required.
“It just makes you think ‘where are they’ in preparing for new rules.”
Ross Liston, strategic development manager for Standard Life, praised the speeches of Greenwood and Bootle, saying they rightly highlighted the “green shoots in the market.”
Bootle was particularly successful and captivating by comparing the state of the UK’s economy with other countries in Europe, he said.
He said: “In the world of investment you can get too obsessed with results.”
