The findings are in line with recent Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures, indicating a change in market sentiment over recent weeks, with a consensus that a slowdown in the housing market has begun.
15 per cent of respondents felt ‘negative’ or ‘very negative’ in their current views of the mortgage industry, compared with three per cent in March 2004. Just over half felt ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ about the market, down from 75 per cent in the last survey.
Other findings in the report included the continued popularity of repayment and discount mortgages, continuing strong performances since the inception of the Index.
Popular lenders among respondents included Standard Life Bank, Northern Rock and Nationwide Building Society.
Alan Dring, head of sales for Standard Life Bank, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve established ourselves at the top of the Index. We see it as an indication that our business propositions and service levels are factors that intermediaries appreciate.”
Abbey became increasingly competitive with those surveyed, its popularity rising from 8 to 16 per cent. Northern Rock and Nationwide both polled 13 per cent. Customer service was the primary reason given for favouring a particular mortgage provider, cited by 26 per cent of respondents. A competitive product range was another ‘deal breaker’ from 24 per cent of respondents.
Rob Clifford, managing director at Mortgageforce, said: “A happy medium has be reached. It is easy to go down the price is king route but service must not be jeopardised.”
