Brokers becoming more advisory in response to current markets

76% of brokers feel their role is becoming more advisory. Almost half (47%) of brokers believe they have to provide clients with more insight and thought than six months ago

Over three quarters (76%) of brokers feel that their role is becoming more advisory and will continue to become so over the next six months, according to research by Alliance and Leicester mortgages.

Almost half (47%) of brokers believe they provide clients with more insight and thought than they did six months ago, mainly due to lower confidence in the housing market (48%) and the economy (22%).

In the past six months, on average, brokers have dedicated well over a quarter (29%) more of their time to offering advice and guidance to potential borrowers.

Of these, almost half (48%) of brokers find that the added time involved in giving more advice isn't affecting their business financially.

Furthermore, of the 24% of brokers who feel the added time pressure has resulted in less immediate business, more than two thirds (64%) believe this will ultimately secure longer relations with their clients and therefore lead to a more robust and prolonged income stream in the long term.

Raj Uppal, Director of Mortgages at Alliance and Leicester, said: "Borrowers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of making the right mortgage choice and that they can take advantage of brokers' wealth of knowledge to ensure this.

Instead of simply using a broker to source products, borrowers are now making the most of their advisory services to learn about affordability and extend their product understanding." Raj Uppal continues: "Very positively, those brokers who have devoted time to working closely alongside clients in a more advisory capacity feel that their efforts will be rewarded in the future with better client relationships and ultimately result in higher business income." Of the questions asked of brokers, affordability came in top with over half (55%) of their clients focusing on this.

This was followed by more than a quarter (27%) of clients querying specific products with brokers being asked for advice on different lenders by nearly a quarter (24%) of clients.

The Bank of England Base Rate (24%) and deposits (18%) were also featured among topics that clients want to discuss with their broker.

Raj Uppal adds: "The high profile news coverage about economic issues, the economy in general and the housing market mean broker's advice and expertise will play an important role in helping their clients find the right product.

Mortgages have hit the main news agenda in recent months and this has perhaps led to more people questioning brokers about the different aspects involved in taking on a mortgage.".

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