the mortgage brokerage market | France

1.1 Presentation and definition of the mortgage brokerage market

A home loan broker is a intermediary in banking and payment services (IOBSP), whose mission is to find the best interest rate and the best offers thanks to its network of partner banks during a project of acquisition, construction, rental investment or work. He can also take care of the accompaniment of the borrower in his search for a consumer credit, a repurchase of credit or a loan insurance. The IOBSP knows the rates, offers, loan policies of the credit institutions with which he works, which allows him to guide customers according to their banking profile, their project, he can also negotiate the best conditions for the customer with partners. To call upon a broker in real loan, it is to call upon an intermediary between banks and purchasers to make it possible to the borrowers to save time and to have of better offer and to make it possible the banks to have new customers without seeking them and convincing them themselves. A broker must be registered with oRIAS the Body for the Unique Register of Insurance, Banking and Finance Intermediaries.

More and more French people are using a mortgage broker for their loans, this proportion has increased by 11 points in 6 years. Indeed, 40% of them used a broker for their home loan in 2021, the majority of them to obtain better rates.

On the one hand the market is boosted by low interest rates which favours the volume of property loans, with broker commission fees varying little with the banks, around 1% of the amount borrowed, however this percentage could be revised downwards because of low interest rates as the banks feel they are not making enough profit from these partnerships.

Real estate is very active, the number of transactions over 12 months has never been as high as in the second quarter of 2021, the health crisis being largely responsible for this record since many transactions have been delayed because of confinements, but also because it has caused a movement of revitalization of the territory with the rise of telecommuting that pushes the French to move away from large cities. However, one must keep a close eye on real estate inflation, which can be a brake on property purchases.

The profession is subject to increased regulation, notably with the Basel III accords of 2010, which impose greater transparency, equity capital and better liquidity ratios. However, the number of mortgage brokers has increased throughout France, especially in medium-sized French cities.