9/10 Australians confident brokers have best interests at heart

According to the findings, 89 per cent of the respondents who had used a broker expressed that they were confident that their advisers had addressed their best interests. 

The survey also reported that 88 per cent of respondents who went through the broker channel were provided relevant options for their loan, and that almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of this cohort who had gone through the broker channel had either secured their home loan or refinanced in the last two years.

The respondents noted that the top benefits of using a broker were their extensive industry knowledge, their access to the best deals and interest rates, and that they would do most of the work. 

Mortgage Choice chief executive, Anthony Waldron commented that these findings reaffirm the role that best interests duty has had on the sector. 

“The DNA of mortgage brokers has always included looking after borrowers’ best interests,” Mr Waldron said. 

“Eighteen months on from formalising Best Interests Duty and Australians are demonstrating their trust in mortgage brokers. 

“The industry now writes more than two in every three home loans, and our network of almost 1,000 brokers find themselves constantly adapting to meet this demand.” 

Speaking to The Adviser for the Elite Broker podcast last month, Queensland-based broker Ryan Baddock, from RB Finance said he has become increasingly busy speaking with his borrowers regarding rising interest rates. 

“It’s been hectic on the phone talking to a lot of people... about how they can manage their interest costs. And how they can use strategies to reduce debt, and in turn, reduce their interest cost, manage their exposure, and just try and get the best outcome they possibly can,” he said. 

“This is something that we spend a lot of time doing.”

Earlier this month, Paul Hixon from Loan Market in Brisbane’s New Farm told Elite Broker that his team is now “forcing the subject” of increasing rates with their borrowers to ensure they can service loans should the rate creep up to 4 per cent. 

However, this Mortgage Choice survey also concluded that there was reluctance among borrowers to refinance, with two-thirds of the respondents hoping to avoid it, and 61 per cent feeling cautious that refinancing could leave them worse off. 

Mr Waldron said that it wasn’t surprising that “customers aren’t prepared to seek a better deal due to the significant hassle that they have to go through to try and figure out how to get a better deal on their home loan”. 

“The broker market share has accelerated because of solving this client need and the fact that the broker can take care of the hard work of dealing with the banks,” Mr Waldron said.

Mr Waldron added that 80 per cent of the respondents in this survey also noted that home loans were their biggest monthly expense, “which shows how important it is for many to use the expertise and insights of a broker”. 

“This presents an opportunity for brokers to have that home loan health check with their customers and potentially save them hundreds if not thousands of dollars every year,” Mr Waldron said.

Earlier this week, a survey conducted by Money.com.au concluded that more than half of respondents (51 per cent) confirmed that they would make changes to their home loan in the face of rising interest rates.

Of this group, one-third of respondents said they would do so by refinancing.  

[Related: ​​Broker value amplified in rising rate environment]