CAN FINANCIAL SERVICES PLUG THE GAP AS THE MARKET SLOWS?

Recent stats from the CML show that last year 360,000 people moved homes, meaning the number has stayed roughly flat for three year.  In some areas, such as greater London, the number of home movers fell to their lowest levels for 25 years, highlighting the acuteness of this issue.

While agents across the UK are facing a shortage of properties coming on the market, many agents are supplementing their revenue with financial services.   Research carried out by The Mortgage Broker Ltd amongst estate agents in the South East, estimates that over 40% of home buyers don’t have a mortgage in place when they approach a branch and the majority of agents believe that the industry is missing out on mortgage sales.

Darren Pescod, Managing Director of The Mortgage Broker Ltd comments: “Estate agents have a great opportunity to top up sales, by offering home buyer mortgages through a highly professional mortgage broker.

“However, whilst the large franchised agents have in-house financial services, many smaller agents may be missing mortgage opportunities because of poor service, provided by their mortgage broker. Our research shows that on a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being extremely poorly and 10 being extremely good) estate agents rate their brokers just 6.7 for servicing their clients and themselves.

“Agents may be using a broker that gives them, or their clients, a slow response and does not pre-qualify the applicants for them or keep them up to date on progress of the mortgage application.  This can result in taking longer to sell a property, or can mean putting forward a buyer that 4 weeks down the line finds out they cannot obtain a mortgage . Agents with poor performing brokers can miss out on mortgage sales and sales opportunities.

“The recent changes to mortgage lending has led to an increase in the number of products on offer, such as those with longer payment periods – some lenders will now lend to the age of 85 and beyond and other lenders will consider six times income.  These new mortgage products will drive up the number of potential applicants available to agents, provided that they have a mortgage broker that can process the applications quickly and efficiently.”

Gavin Childs-Brown from Peter Lane & Partners commented: “Getting our potential buyers pre-qualified from our mortgage broker allows us to deliver a high quality service to our vendors. By only putting forward buyers that we know can proceed, makes the sale go through that much quicker and as an added bonus the referral commission from the Financial services is the cherry on the cake.”

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

for sale sign london
Breaking News

New-build demand dips in Q3 as homebuyers sit tight ahead of autumn statement

The latest market analysis from Property Inspect has found that fewer than one in five new homes are currently securing a buyer, with homebuyer demand for new-build properties falling on both a quarterly and annual basis. Property Inspect analysed current market listings looking at what proportion of new-build properties are already marked as sold subject…
Read More
Breaking News

Rightmove celebrates 25 years of viral property moments

As Rightmove marks its 25th birthday, we’re celebrating the properties that stopped people mid-scroll, sparked thousands of shares, and became internet sensations. From a house with its own Tardis to a shark crashing through a roof, these homes prove that the UK property market is anything but ordinary. With billions of minutes spent on Rightmove…
Read More
Breaking News

Rental stock availability in England rises by 19.7%

The latest rental stock analysis from Adiuvo, the UK’s leading provider of 24/7 property management solutions, reveals that tenants in England are benefitting from a 19.7% increase in stock over the 12 months leading up to Q3 2025. In some areas of the country, annual stock growth easily exceeded 50%. Adiuvo has analysed rental listings…
Read More
Breaking News

Tenant demand continues to climb in Q3 as rental market shows no signs of cooling

The latest market analysis by Dwelly, one of the UK’s leading lettings acquisition and success planning experts, has revealed that tenant demand continued to climb across the rental sector during the third quarter of this year, with West Sussex home to the highest demand, whilst Rutland saw the largest quarterly increase. Dwelly’s Rental Demand Index* analyses…
Read More
Breaking News

Halifax House Price Index for September 2025 – Thoughts from the Industry

Halifax House Price Index for September 2025. The latest index shows that: On a monthly basis, house prices fell by -0.3% between August and September 2025. However, house prices were up 1.3% on an annual basis. The new average house price now sits at £298,184. Thoughts from the Industry. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, comments:…
Read More
Breaking News

Halifax House Price Index for September 2025

House prices in September 2025 were -0.3% lower than the same month a year earlier. Average house price – £298,184 Monthly change -0.3% Quarterly change +0.4% Annual change +1.3%   Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said: “The average UK house price edged down by -0.3% (£794) in September, following a modest rise in August.…
Read More