Broker products uncompetitive

Using the Home Buyer sourcing system powered by Defaqto, the cheapest mortgage deal over two years has been tracked using two generic examples based on the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ average borrower statistics. These are: a first time buyer purchasing a property for £127,500 at 90% LTV, and a second time buyer purchasing a property for £185,000 at 73% LTV.

Tracking the actual difference between the cheapest cost of an intermediary product and the cheapest cost of a direct-to-lender product over the last month, for first time buyers the direct-to-lender mortgage is £63.09 per month (£1514.16 over two years) cheaper than the equivalent broker product, and for second time buyers the direct-to-lender product is £43.37 per month (£1040.88 over two years) cheaper than the broker product.

Richard Angliss, managing director of Home Buyer Systems commented: “These differentials between direct-to-lender and broker products have persisted for the last couple of months and they are now an established market condition that shows no sign of disappearing. In the current market, mortgage intermediaries must seriously consider switching to a fee-based service and equip themselves with the systems and technology to research and recommend direct-to-lender products. As the figures show, most borrowers are likely to agree to a reasonable fee in order to gain the savings that a direct-to-lender product will provide.”