Paragon Mortgages’ Financial Advisor Confidence Tracking Index, a quarterly survey of financial advisors, found that brokers expect to do +8% more mortgage business in the third quarter of 2009 than in the second quarter.

This is the second quarter in a row that brokers have predicted an increase in mortgage business and follows a negative 2008 when the intermediary market, on average, predicted contracting levels of business.

Overall, 58% of respondents predicted an increase in mortgage business, with nearly a third (31%) expecting to see a +10% or more uplift in business. Only 7% of brokers expect business to fall, which compares favourably to the March 2009 and December 2008 surveys, when 19% and 39% of brokers respectively stated that they expected business levels to decline in the following three months.

The increased level of confidence is reflected in staffing levels at brokers, which rose by an average of +3% over the second quarter.

John Heron, Paragon Mortgages, managing director said: “We are starting to see concrete signs of confidence returning to the mortgage market and that can only be a positive for the UK housing market. Mortgage brokers have endured some tough times in the past 18 months so it is welcoming that the market if finally seeing some positive news.”