BrokerMay 28 2021

Half of first time buyers turn to brokers for help

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Half of first time buyers turn to brokers for help

The value of advice is becoming more apparent to first time buyers as one in two is now turning to a broker for help, research has found.

Figures from Aldermore Bank’s first time buyer index showed, out of the 1,000 first time buyers surveyed, 18 per cent used a broker pre-Covid-19 in March 2020 but only a year later this has jumped to 48 per cent.

A further one in five (19 per cent) said they intended to use a broker soon in the future.

Meanwhile nearly all (98 per cent) of those who used a broker to help them get their foot on the housing ladder found their services useful.

The main reasons were that brokers provided recommendations and checked finances to see which mortgages were affordable, with more than half (55 per cent) finding this useful.

In addition, 54 per cent found that brokers helped them complete important paperwork, while 37 per cent said brokers provided them with new information and 35 per cent said their broker recommended certain mortgages.

About a third found having the buying process clearly explained to them useful.

Jon Cooper, head of mortgage distribution at Aldermore said: “Brokers have been a life raft for first time buyers in a sea of increasing challenges and worsening conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Buying a property can be a very daunting experience but brokers have been vital to first time buyers the past twelve months in assisting them to navigate through this period of uncertainty. 

“The much needed expertise and guidance they have provided really shows how crucial the role of the broker is in today’s housing environment and it’s very encouraging that their services have been found to be universally beneficial.”

Research from Aldermore earlier this month (May 5) found the number of first-time buyers who had been rejected for a mortgage had risen over the course of the pandemic.

It found 81 per cent were rejected for a mortgage at least once in March this year, up from 53 per cent year-on-year.

They were also more than twice as likely to have been rejected multiple times for a mortgage (43 per cent) when compared with last year (17 per cent).

amy.austin@ft.com

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