The top reason for brokers being consulted on loans is that they do "all the legwork", a new survey claims.
The latest Bankwest/MFAA Index, which judges consumer attitudes to third party mortgage brokers, found that 77% of 1000 individuals surveyed across Australia thought that the top benefit of using a broker was because they did all the work throughout the process of obtaining a loan.
The second most popular reason was that brokers have a wider loan range (75%) on offer, while their expertise in a range of mortgages from a range of lenders was valued by 73% of consumers.
However, legwork may not be enough for the continued success of the channel. Bankwest and analysis of the results claimed that mortgage brokers were failing to take advantage of increased consumer awareness, by promoting and articulating their value proposition.
While awareness of brokers is increasing - currently at a high of 97% - nearly a quarter of those consumers surveyed were unclear what a broker can actually do for them, the results found.
MFAA chief executive Phil Naylor said accredited brokers "are not actively promoting the range of value-based services they offer", and the industry needs to do a "much better job" in defining its value.
