First-home buyers favour brokers

Brokers are a preferred source of information for first-home buyers, according to a new study.

The MFAA/Bankwest Home Finance Index revealed that 42% of all first-home buyers under age 29 are more likely to use brokers and 31% of first-home buyers intended to use a broker for the their first-home purchase.

Over half of all first-time buyers believe that now is a good time to buy a home. The encouraging thing for brokers is that this group are also more likely to visit a broker for information and to source their loan," said Phil Naylor, CEO of the MFAA.

Naylor speculated that one possible reason for these figures is that younger respondents don't have established relationships with financial institutions and are therefore more likely to explore options and alternatives.

"This information presents an enormous opportunity for businesses when reviewing their marketing plans," he said.

Phil Colton, head of broker sales at Bankwest said the survey indicates that first-time buyers look to mortgage brokers as an important source of information when researching their home loan options.

"Brokers ranked third (10 per cent), behind the internet (23.9 per cent) and own research (18.8 per cent)."

While figures for broker satisfaction were slightly down from April 2008, brokers still rated higher than all other home loan sources, with the exception of credit unions.

"Satisfaction with brokers has consistently trended higher than other home loan sources. Since the very first survey in June 2006, brokers have always been more favourable with borrowers," Colton said.

The survey also revealed that consumers want to work with a mortgage broker who is a member of an industry body, with 78.9 per cent saying it was important to find this out before sourcing a loan. This is up from 72.3 per cent recorded in April this year.