Two thirds of estate agents report decrease in buyers following the Mortgage Market Review, says the National Association of Estate Agents.
Mark Hayward, the association's managing director, says this weekend marks the first anniversary of MMR and he claims it has had substantial effects on the market.
A drop in the number of buyers is the direct result of a slow-down in acceptance of mortgages, with it now taking an average of 50 days to receive a mortgage offer. This increases the risk that sales won't go through and puts unnecessary pressure on any chain transactions he says.
The NAEA view contrasts with that expressed earlier this week by Paragon Mortgages, which surveyed 200 mortgage intermediaries.
Some 43 per cent said that in their view there had been no change to their business volumes as a result of MMR and indeed some 24 per cent said that business had increased. Only a quarter of those surveyed said they had experienced a decrease.
The majority of intermediaries who said they had experienced a decrease reported this had been up to 30 per cent; only 14 per cent said the decrease in business had been higher.
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Comments
"average of 50 days to receive a mortgage offer" as a mortgage broker I can tell you this is crazy, I still turn applications around well within 2 weeks. You get the odd one that's a nightmare but even they don't take 50 days. Any Estate Agents getting this sort of service from a broker let me know, I would be happy to deal with your business and give a healthy commission share.
The reason for brokers finding business has either stayed the same or increased is because MMR has had the effect of pushing more mortgage applicants, who would previously have applied to the lender direct, to use the services of a broker to vet their application to increase the chances of approval
I do not think 200 mortgage broker is a large enough number to represent the whole market. It is just a sample whereas NAEA has thousands of members.
I do believe MMR had affected many buyers. However, this has been replaced with pensioners and experienced landlords looking for safe haven for their capital.