Borrower priorities differ to what brokers think they are: Connective research

The research report, titled “Achieving Success in Mortgage Broking”, includes the findings of a survey conducted over May with 321 brokers and 170 prospective borrowers regarding the top three perceived values that borrowers expect from their brokers, and what brokers believe borrowers expect from them. 

According to the results, only three expectations were shared between the two groups. 

The top expectations for a borrower were:

• brokers sourcing the lowest interest rate;
• having loan options explained clearly;
• being provided with accurate information;
• having a broker understand their needs; and
• being provided with an easy application process. 

However, the surveyed brokers believed that the top two priorities for borrowers would be the speed of approval and keeping a client updated on the progress of their application. However, these two expectations that were not in the top five priorities shared by borrowers.

The remaining three priorities that brokers believed borrowers had were:

• sourcing the lowest interest rate for their clients;
• understanding a client’s needs; and
• clearly explaining loan options. 

Furthermore, included in this report was an additional survey of 491 brokers conducted over May that found that ‘client focus’ was a “top ingredient” for broker success with 36 per cent of respondents ranking it in the top five. 

However, only 25 per cent believed that communication, including explaining information was a necessary top five step for success. 

Speaking of the findings, Connective chief executive Glenn Lees said that he believes this disparity indicates that broker success requires more than working the numbers. 

“Speed and interest rates will always be important, but brokers who spend more time listening to clients and explaining options are differentiating themselves,” Mr Lees said.

“The purpose of this research is to help brokers to better understand how they can deepen their relationship with their clients and sustain success. 

“What we’ve learnt is that borrowers value having loan options explained, getting accurate information and having their needs understood.

“The message for brokers is to continue to work closely with your clients to really understand their needs, partner with them on the loan process with clear and frequent communication. 

“The real opportunity is to develop deeper client relationships, but do it at scale.”

Additional research supports this notion of communication being an asset for brokers, with Momentum Intelligence’s Consumer Access to Mortgages report for 2021 finding that 85 per cent of the borrowers surveyed who engaged with brokers considered the communication well rated. 

Comparatively, proprietary channels were rated at 69 per cent. 

Interestingly, the same findings note that consumer satisfaction (88 per cent in 2020 to 72 per cent in 2021) and trust (89 per cent in 2020 to roughly 83 per cent in 2021) with brokers had declined over 12 months – the result being frustrations over approval speeds. 

Momentum Intelligence’s head of strategy Michael Johnson said of the issue that: “With the significant differences in turnaround times between lenders, it’s critical that brokers go above and beyond to communicate status updates to their clients to maximise their satisfaction.

“This data shows clearly that clients who experienced much slower turnaround times were less satisfied with their broker. That’s why brokers must take a proactive role in communicating application status updates. 

“It has been a really challenging period for brokers and their clients and our data shows that brokers that communicate better receive higher rates of satisfaction, even if the lender turnaround times are slightly longer.”

[Related: Turnaround delays impacting broker client satisfaction]