Nearly nine out of 10 (88%) mortgage applications made via intermediaries resulted in offers during Q2 2017, according to the latest Mortgage Market Tracker from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA).

The quarterly report – which uses data from BDRC Continental – tracks mortgage applicants’ journey through the intermediary channel from initial enquiry through to completion.

The data contrasts the fortunes of brokers with a particular focus on first-time buyers, homemovers, remortgagors, buy-to-let (BTL) borrowers and applicants for specialist loans.

Despite the political events in Q2, the mortgage market remained resilient, with gross mortgage lending for the quarter hitting £60.3bn, a 3% increase from Q1 and a 6% increase from the same period in 2016.

96% of the intermediaries surveyed claimed they felt confident about the future of the mortgage market, suggesting the trend may continue.

The data shows that first-time buyers took advantage of an extended period of low interest rates and lender support, which despite affordability pressures meant that the number of mortgage applications by the group resulted in offers increasing from 71% in Q2 2016 to 88% in Q2 2017 – a rise of 17 percentage points.

This proportion of applications that turned in to offers marks the highest recorded since the Tracker began in Q1 2016, having risen steadily over the last year.

The percentage of offers resulting in completions has also increased year-on-year from 75% in Q2 2016 to 81% in 2017.

This equates to 71 of every 100 mortgage applications now resulting in a completion, up from 58 at the start of 2016.

“While the second quarter of 2017 was dominated by political speculation and campaigning, any resulting uncertainty was not enough to send the mortgage market and the determination of aspiring homeowners off their course,” said Peter Williams, executive director of IMLA (pictured above).

“The percentage of successful applications continued to grow across the board, a testament to the ability of the intermediaries to match consumers with suitable products in what is an increasingly complex marketplace.

“With house price rises softening and easing affordability pressures, borrower demand and lender supply remains unwavering, heightened by increasingly competitive residential and buy-to-let LTV pricing.

“Greater choice means that, for intermediaries, it is perfectly possible to match a wide range of aspiring homeowners and movers to suitable finance without compromising on rigorous assessments of borrower capacity to service their mortgage underpinning the market.”