The latest Mortgage Market Tracker from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) shows a slight dip in intermediary confidence in Q4 2025, though sentiment improved by the end of the year.
Overall confidence in the mortgage industry fell slightly during the quarter and remains below typical levels seen between 2015 and 2019. However, advisers’ outlook for their own firms stayed stronger than their view of the wider market, with 57% reporting they felt “very confident” and 43% “fairly confident” about their business in December.
Business volumes eased slightly, with the average intermediary placing 89 mortgage cases over the past 12 months, down from 92 in Q3 but higher than 80 in Q4 2024.
Efficiency in the mortgage process improved, with Decisions in Principle resulting in a DIP accept rising to 86%—the highest in three years. Conversion from DIP to completion increased to 40%, while full application to completion conversion moved up from 62% to 65%.
The data suggests that although intermediaries handled marginally fewer cases, a higher proportion of cases successfully progressed through to completion.
Kate Davies, executive director of IMLA, commented: “It is understandable that confidence in the wider mortgage market was somewhat subdued at the end of last year. In Q4, advisers were operating against a backdrop of economic uncertainty exacerbated by the run-up to and announcement of November’s Budget, which put a dampener on investment and growth throughout the second half of 2025.
“In fact, according to IMLA’s own figures as recorded in the New Normal Report, gross mortgage lending increased by 19% in 2025, and is forecast to grow another 11% this year.
“As we move further into 2026, with the Budget (and Budget speculation) firmly behind us, falling interest rates and greater clarity around fiscal policy should help support a firmer recovery in sentiment regarding the wider mortgage market.
“Broker confidence in their own businesses has remained extremely robust throughout, underlining the resilience of intermediary firms despite policy uncertainty and an unsettled economic environment. As the market grows this year, intermediaries will continue to play a central role in guiding around 90% of borrowers through a complex and competitive lending landscape.”
