A massive 67% of mortgages were arranged through mortgage brokers in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest figures from the industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority.

Borrowers can choose to take mortgage advice directly from a lender, or from a mortgage broker, who will search the market to find the most appropriate deal. And the figures show a move towards independent professional advice.

Low deposit boost

The regulator’s data also revealed that borrowers are increasingly taking out deals with smaller deposits, as the proportion of new lending advanced with a loan-to-value (LTV) of between 90 and 95% rose from a share of 6% in the second quarter of 2014 to 9% this year.

This is down to the increased availability of mortgages for borrowers with smaller deposits, boosted by Government schemes deisgned to help those without a large upfront sum to get onto the ladder.

Lending into retirement

There’s also been a small increase in lifetime mortgage sales – also known as equity release mortgages. The latest lifetime mortgage sales data saw a small year-on-year increase of 23,271 sales, driven by higher numbers of older borrowers releasing equity from their homes.

However this is still just 2% of all mortgage sales and lenders and industry bodies are working hard to develop more lending solutions for borrowers approaching or in retirement.