The final quarter of last year saw brokers process more cases than they ever have before, says the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (Imla).

In the 12 months to Q4 2021, the average broker dealt with 103 cases, a 32% increase on the yearly average as of Q4 2020.

And while the average number of decisions in principles dropped to 26 per broker in November 2021, by December of that year the metric had bounced back to 32.

Intermediaries are largely optimistic in their business outlook for the future, Imla adds. A majority, 62%, of the 300 asked say they are ‘very confident’ and 98% are confident overall.

Imla adds, however, that confidence in the mortgage sector as a whole fell from 46% (a record high) in Q3 2021 to 42% in the final quarter of the year.

“The positive findings of our latest report clearly reflect this strong level of activity and the demand that underpins it, says Imla executive director Kate Davies.

She continues: “As caseload volumes increased to set new records in Q4 2021, despite the months following the conclusion of the stamp duty holiday expected to be quieter compared to 2021 as a whole, advisers have a solid foundation to begin 2022.

“With inflation potentially reaching 7% by April this year, and interest rates continuing to rise, we expect demand to remain strong in the mortgage market as borrowers try to lock into new fixed-rate deals and those with more complex financial situations seek support.”