Sunday, December 10, 2006

Mortgage brokers to become top lenders

Mortgage brokers are becoming the first choice for home buyers when they're arranging a loan, a survey shows.

The Mortgage Industry Association of Australia(MIAA)/BankWest home finance survey released today showed more than 41 per cent of recent or intending homebuyers would go to a mortgage broker.

That figure compares with 37.5 per cent who regarded banks as their first preference.

MIAA chief executive Phil Naylor said the figures showed a rise in the public acceptance of brokers.
"Public awareness of brokers is now more than 90 per cent," he said.

It is the first time the survey has shown homebuyers prefer arranging their loan through a broker rather than going straight to a bank.

BankWest's head of broker sales, Phil Colton said the research highlighted that banks really couldn't afford to ignore the broking industry.

The research shows that borrowers preferred brokers mainly because they did all the legwork for customers, but also because they could offer a range of loan options from different lenders.
The MIAA/Bank West survey is conducted twice a year.

Source: AAP