This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Quarterly instruction levels for both purchases and remortgages increased by around a third in the second quarter of 2015, according to new research.
A report from Broker Conveyancing shows that the number of purchase instructions in quarter two of this year were up 35% on quarter one, while remortgage instructions were up by 29%. In all, total instructions were up by 33.5% during the three-month period.[1]
Purchase/remortgage split
The data from the report suggests a surge in remortgage activity during the past few months, but additional figures show the purchase/remortgaging split still remains weighted towards the former.
During quarter two, purchase levels made up 67.5% of total business, compared to 66.5% in the first three months of the year. Remortgage instructions as a percentage of overall activity fell from 33.5% in quarter one to 32.5% in quarter two.[1]
Taking its own instruction levels into account, Broker Conveyancing said that they had improved due largely to an increase in the number of brokers using its online portal. New users, outlined as those placing their first instructions, have run at two per day for the last 15 months, the firm said.
Driver
Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Broker Conveyancing, said,’ despite some considerable improvement in remortgage instruction levels on the first quarter of the year, our ongoing experience is that purchases continue to be the main driver of the market and will continue to do so for some time.’[1]
Instructions rise during Q2 of 2015
‘There are many reasons for this,’ Singh continued, ‘not least the stricter affordability criteria ushered in by the MMR with the result that a number of existing borrowers are unable to secure refinance, but also the fact that Base Rate remains at a historical low and until we begin to see movement here we are likely to see activity at these levels. While purchases have appeared to fall in number across the wider market space, our own instruction levels have actually increased and this is clearly down to the increased number of brokers who are taking control of the conveyancing process for their clients and using our system in order to instruct and earn.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/instruction-activity-rises-by-a-third.html
