The Index indicated 47 per cent of brokers would not complete any equity release business in this calender year. A further 48 per cent said they expected between one and 10 per cent of their business volumes to be based around equity release.
Tony Jones, managing director of Pink Home Loans, said: “Following the Financial Services Authority’s review in the sector it seems to be the case that brokers are more sceptical of this area of the mortgage market.”
The Index also revealed intermediaries are still happy to undertake self-cert business, despite FSA concerns.
4 per cent of intermediaries were not aiming to complete any self-cert business in 2006, with 39 per cent of intermediaries expecting to see between one and 10 per cent of their business volumes conducted through self-cert.
47 per cent expected this figure to be between 11 and 30 per cent, while 10 per cent targeted over 30 per cent of business. Jones added: “Brokers have not been scared off self-cert and are holding the line that if sold correctly it is still a valuable part of the market.”
Charles Haresnape, managing director of Bank of Scotland (BoS) Mortgages, agreed self-cert would be a positive market in 2006, and was eager for BoS to make strides in the sector. He said: “There are more people becoming self-employed and so self-cert will definitely be a growth area this year.”
