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An increasing number of Australians are turning to brokers to write their loans, The Genworth Financial Mortgage Trends Report has found.
The report, released yesterday, showed the proportion of broker written loans has increased to 41 per cent from 30 per cent in 2005.
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Positive sentiment towards brokers is also growing, with the portion of non-property owners who would not consider using a broker falling from 26 per cent in 2008 to a mere 3 per cent in 2009.
At the report’s launch in Sydney yesterday, Alan Shields, research director Retail Finance Intelligence – who undertook the research on behalf of Genworth Financial – said that brokers were becoming increasingly relevant to the property industry.
“Only 33 per cent of [all] borrowers are completely closed to the idea of using a mortgage broker,” Mr Shields said.
Mr Shields said mortgage brokers were sought after because they could provide guidance to borrowers on the various ins and outs of each individual home loan.
According to the report, borrowers are increasingly driven by fees, including exit and early repayment fees, when choosing a mortgage provider.
Borrowers place the highest level of importance on exit fees while the stability and reputation of a lender came a close second with a score of 5.7 out of 7, up from 5.3 in 2008.
Genworth Financial chief executive officer Martin Barter told journalists the importance of lender stability represented a significant shift in choice drivers in 2009.
“Recommendation and teaser rates are now considered to be much less important,” Mr Barter said.
“Similarly, product features and branch accessibility are also not considered to be important in driving borrower choice.”
