Just Mortgages sees record month of applications and ...

Just Mortgages has achieved its best-ever month for both applications and exchanges in September.

The company saw 1,750 applications and 1,500 exchanges last month as people rushed to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

The number of applications was a 20% increase over August and up 40% compared to September 2019.

The largest increase in volume was recorded by Just Mortgages’ self-employed brokers, although it was also a record month both for Just Mortgages estate agency based employed brokers and the remortgage team.

With networks of contacts, the self-employed brokers are doing well since lockdown ended in July. Established just four years ago, Just Mortgages’ self-employed division announced that it had achieved 300 brokers in mid-September, growing by another 25 brokers in the past three weeks.

John Phillips, national operations director for Spicerhaart and Just Mortgages, comments: “This is a really great time to be a broker. The volume of people looking to move home is higher than anyone may have expected it to be.”

“There has been a massive surge in those looking to move, potentially as a result of people really reflecting on what type of property they want to live in after being stuck in their home during lockdown. The housing market has been one of the few bright spots of 2020.”

He says as a result, it is ‘a very positive time to be a broker’ and the desire to be self-employed appears to be higher than ever.

“We continue to see record numbers of brokers want to join our self-employed arm as it offers the best of both worlds, providing the support of a larger company while allowing the broker to take their business in whatever direction works best for them,” he concludes.