Australians turning to mortgage brokers in record numbers

In the September quarter, mortgage brokers originated a record 66.9% of all new residential home loans, according to research group Comparator.

This compares to market share of 60.1% the year before.

Why is broker market share growing so strongly?

One reason is value. When you go directly to a bank, you will only get told about that bank’s products. But when you go to a mortgage broker, the broker will compare loans from a wide variety of lenders.

Another reason is ethics. Brokers have to follow the Best Interests Duty, which legally obliges them to work in their clients’ best interests. Banks, though, are not bound by the Best Interests Duty.

Broker market share is likely to keep increasing, due to the rollout of open banking, a system that makes it easy for consumers to share their data with third parties. Brokers will be able to use open banking to help clients shop around and find more suitable loans.