Mortgage intermediaries introduced an average of 24.5 mortgages in the first quarter of 2019, up by 6 per cent from 23 mortgages in Q4 2018 and by 10 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Paragon’s latest Financial Adviser Confidence Tracking (FACT) Index revealed that current activity levels are close to the ten-year high of 25.2 mortgages recorded in the last quarter of 2015, and compares with a ten-year low of 13.8 mortgages in Q3 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Individual mortgage advisers introduced an average of 8.8 mortgages in the quarter – up by 16 per cent from 7.6 mortgages in Q4 2018 and by 11 per cent from Q1 2018 – the highest level of productivity achieved since the beginning of 2014.

According to Paragon, productivity was likely to have been bolstered by the growth in remortgaging, which has increased from 30 per cent of mortgage cases five years ago to over 40 per cent of mortgage business in Q1 2019.

Despite the busy first quarter, advisers anticipate a 1.5 per cent increase in mortgage business in Q2 2019 – a modest pick-up for the beginning of the traditionally strong, spring-summer period compared with previous years, Paragon found.

Commenting on the growth, Paragon managing director of mortgages John Heron said: “While home mover activity is subdued, low interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook are encouraging more customers to remortgage, lifting intermediary business and boosting productivity. Despite the current economic uncertainty, it’s encouraging to see mortgage intermediaries maintaining high activity levels.”

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