“Legwork – that’s what home buyers appreciate most about mortgage brokers, according
to the latest MIAA/BankWest Home Finance Survey.
The national survey of 842 respondents shows 80 per cent of consumers consider time
saving the most important benefit of using a broker, followed by access to a wide range
of loans (78 per cent) and the level of expertise brokers offer (77 per cent).
BankWest Head of Broker Sales, Phil Colton, says: “Most home buyers today like to
shop around before committing to a home loan – brokers do the legwork for them by
offering access to a wide range of products and lenders.
“While a large proportion of loans are still sourced through banks, it’s not surprising that
brokers are the fastest growing source of home loans. They offer a unique service to
homebuyers who are looking for a product that best suits their needs.”
The survey shows a high awareness of mortgage brokers (89 per cent) among
consumers, particularly the under 50s.
MIAA CEO Phil Naylor says: “The industry is growing steadily as more and more
consumers recognise the benefits of using a mortgage broker. In less than 10 years, our
membership has grown from under 400 to over 11,500, an indication of the growing
demand for broker services.”
Mr Naylor says the survey also shows customer satisfaction levels are extremely high
and customers are willing to buy other loan related services from mortgage brokers.”

Les Scott an Ipswich based mortgage broker said that the reports findings followed on from a similar result from the 2005 MIAA/BankWest Home Finance Survey. This is encouraging news for mortgage brokers who work hard to provide good service to their clients.

The growth of the mortgage broking industry has seen an increase in new mortgage brokers coming from a mix of backgrounds. Many of us have a banking and finance background while others are making their first entry into the finance industry and see mortgage broking as a good business opportunity.

Dealing with banks and the maze of loan products can be a challenge even for us with a banking background. Mortgage brokers once just had a loan approved and then the lender took over the clients’ needs. However in this era of a profit driven finance industry as against service driven, we as mortgage brokers are finding that our services are needed on a continuing basis to assist our clients. This is a welcome development for us as mortgage brokers as we are keen to provide good on-going service to our clients which is well supported by the comment by the MIAA CEO Phil Naylor when he says: “Mortgage brokers are clearly living up to their reputation for providing expert and professional assistance to homebuyers.”

A homebuyer seeking the services of a mortgage broker should ensure they are dealing with someone with finance experience, a good track record and good knowledge of the home loan market. The mortgage broker should have professional indemnity insurance and be a registered business. Mortgage brokers generally work through a mortgage originator, which operate on a wholesale or franchise basis. The mortgage originators provide service to brokers on industry training and seminars and lender accreditations for their panel of lenders. Our main mortgage originator is the Australian Finance Group (AFG), which is the largest wholesale mortgage originator in Australia. A mortgage broker will generally be a member of a mortgage or broker association such as the Mortgage Industry Association of Australia (MIAA) of which we are a member. In some states the operations of mortgage brokers have been regulated and many from individual brokers to the MIAA are keen to see uniform national regulation of the mortgage broking industry. Mortgage brokers operate in a number of ways, such as an independent business, a franchise or some existing businesses such as real estate agents have set up their own in house mortgage broking service.

It is important for a homebuyer to be confident that the mortgage broker is operating independently of other considerations and in the best interests of the homebuyer. The mortgage broker should be working to provide the home loan that best suits the needs of their clients.