Brokers reach parity on turnaround times: Report

The results showed 61 per cent of proprietary channel customers were satisfied, while just over half (53 per cent) of broker customers were satisfied.

However, in 2022 the results look very different. This year 70 per cent of customers were satisfied with both bank and broker approval speeds.

As the high buyer demand for property continues and brokers field a large number of inquiries from prospective borrowers, a significant pain point has been the time lenders have taken to reach an initial credit decision (turnaround times).

“Now more than ever, this is one of the most crucial elements to consider when lodging loan applications with a lender because timely approval for a borrower could mean the difference between purchasing their dream home or missing out because they could not arrange their finances on time,” the 2022 report stated.

“Reducing anxiety for the prospective borrower by reaching an initial credit decision quickly could also increase their positive experiences and consequently result in retention and repeat business for both brokers and lenders.

“Therefore, it is important to not only select the lender most likely to meet a borrower’s objectives, but also effectively manage client expectations.”

Turnaround times were at 14 business days in January 2021 and 13 business days in April 2021 (almost three weeks) at the large authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADI), according to a Momentum Intelligence Broker Pulse survey.

However, a year later in April 2021, turnaround times at the large ADIs — or those used by more than 20 per cent of broker respondents — reduced to six days.

Nevertheless, according to this year’s Consumer Access to Mortgages survey, only 25 per cent of mortgage broker clients and 23 per cent of proprietary channel clients reported feeling “extremely satisfied” with the speed of approval for a home loan.

Almost half of all respondents who used a mortgage broker or went directly to a lender said they were “satisfied” with the speed of approval.

However, while 12 per cent of mortgage broker clients said they were dissatisfied with approval times, this reduced to only 6 per cent of proprietary channel clients.

“This disparity could potentially be explained by the differences in processing times between the direct lender channel and the broker channel that have been reported,” the 2022 report noted.

A small proportion of consumers across both channels responded that they were extremely dissatisfied with the speed of approval.