The number of mortgage applications that advisors were processing during the last quarter of 2021 was higher than it has ever been before, the latest Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) research has revealed.
During the period up to the fourth quarter of last year, a mortgage advisor in the UK was dealing with an average of 103 applications for loans. That represents a rise of 32% on the average figure for the year leading up to the fourth quarter of 2020. Furthermore, while there was a fall in average decisions in principle volumes during November of last year – to 26% for each advisor – they returned to the previous level of 32% by the end of December.
Unsurprisingly, the research also found that most UK intermediaries feel positive about the prospects for their businesses in 2022. Out of 300 that took part in the study, 98% expressed overall positive feelings about the future, while 62% said that they were extremely optimistic.
This was contrasted somewhat by the picture for the sector overall, with 42% of those working in the mortgage industry telling IMLA that they had optimism for the future during the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 46% in the third quarter. The latter figure is a record high percentage, however.
Kate Davies from IMLA told Mortgage Strategy that:
“The positive findings of our latest report clearly reflect this strong level of activity and the demand that underpins it.”
This positivity is likely one of the reasons why the demand for CeMAP training remains high.
