New research from specialist property lender Octane Capital reveals that despite a turbulent finish to 2022, the size of the UK mortgage broker market climbed 9.6% year on year, with a further 2.6% increase forecast for 2023.

Octane analysed the size of the UK mortgage broker market based on revenue and how the sector has performed over the last decade, as well as forecasting where it might sit come the end of this year.

The analysis shows that despite external market factors dampening the wider property market in recent years, the mortgage broker sector has grown from strength to strength, increasing in size every year since 2013.

In fact, the market size of the sector is estimated to have hit £1.878bn in 2022, increasing 9.6% in a single year and increasing in size by 104.5% in the last decade.

This sharp rate of annual growth was also the third largest year-on-year increase seen over the last decade, with the exception of 2014 and 2016, when the market increased by 29.5% and 19.1% respectively.

Even with the mortgage market turbulence spurred by last September’s mini budget and the cooler market conditions that have materialised in 2023, Octane forecasts that the size of the sector is set to increase further this year.

Based on historic market trends, the size of the UK mortgage broker market is forecast to hit £1.926bn in 2023, a further 2.6% increase compared to 2022.

Octane Capital chief executive Jonathan Samuels says the property market has had to deal with a range of challenges in recent times, from a prolonged period of political uncertainty due to Brexit, the obvious obstacles posed by the pandemic and, more recently, the uncertainty spurred by high inflation, increasing interest rates and a shambolic mini budget last September.

“Despite this, the market has stood firm and our aspirations of homeownership have not been dampened”.

He adds: “Of course, an unwavering level of market activity requires a suitably adequate mortgage sector to help facilitate the nation’s aspirations of homeownership. So it’s hardly surprising that the mortgage broker market has increased in size quite considerably over the last decade and is expected to maintain this growth over the year ahead.”