Sesame networks capture more share of intermediary business

Sesame Bankhall Group achieved a 13.8% share of the mortgage market last year with its PMS and Sesame networks.

The combined group delivered over £26.1bn of mortgage applications to lenders, a £1.9bn increase on the previous year (£24.2bn). Its market share crept up from 13.3% in 2010.

John Cupis, managing director of PMS, said: “It was another challenging year, but with the strong support of our adviser and lender partners, PMS and Sesame once again outperformed the market.

“Over the past year we have made significant investments in valuable new services to enable our members to broaden their offering to clients. This includes protection, mortgage valuations and legal services that are helping intermediaries to develop new income streams.

“We have also bolstered our team of business managers to deliver more face to face support.

“In the face of a tough mortgage market, adviser productivity increased by an average of 20% last year, which demonstrates that our members are rising to the challenge and seizing new opportunities.

“As the Mortgage Market Review draws closer, our strong market position and regulatory expertise means we are ideally placed to help give intermediaries the services and expert guidance they will need to trade efficiently and responsibly in the future.”

PMS is the group’s mortgage club for directly regulated intermediaries. Sesame is its network for appointed representative advisers.

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One-third more FTBs will have to pay Stamp Duty this year

One-third more first-time buyers will have to pay Stamp Duty this year than last, it has emerged, after the number of first-time buyers fell to its lowest level last year since 1974.

According to the Halifax, around 187,000 people were first-time buyers in 2011, a 7% drop on 2010 and fewer than half of the peak of 402,800 in 2006.

Last year’s figure the lowest the Halifax has recorded since it started tracking the data for the UK.

Despite affordability – measured by average earnings and average house prices in all the different local authority areas – being at its best level since 2003, most of the South of the country is shut to first-time buyers: in 2011, the Halifax says that only 5% of the South was affordable, compared with 75% of the North. London had no affordable areas at all for first-time buyers.

Hefty deposit requirements meant that first-time buyers last year had to find £27,032 on average to put down on a purchase. In 2007, when first-time buyers had to find a 10% deposit as opposed to 20%, the average deposit was £17,482.

Nationally, the average price paid for a first-time buyer property was £135,160, down 3% on 2010.

“Housing affordability for those looking to get on to the property ladder for the first time has improved significantly over recent years, largely as a consequence of the decline in house prices since 2007,” said Martin Ellis, the lender’s housing economist.

“Nevertheless, conditions for potential first-time buyers remain tough. Difficulties raising the necessary deposit and concerns over the economic climate are preventing many from entering the market.”

Significantly, first-time buyers may struggle even more this year than in 2011. The Halifax estimates that 95% of first-time buyers were exempt from paying Stamp Duty in 2011.

Nearly four in ten did not pay any Stamp Duty as a consequence of the temporary increase in the starting threshold for first-time buyers from £125,000 to £250,000.

On this basis, 38% more first-time buyers – and 43% in total – will be required to pay Stamp Duty once this concession ends in March.

News Source: http://www.introducertoday.co.uk