Brokers winning back market share

Brokers aren’t ready to give up without a fight, according to new details about mortgage market share released by CAAMP.

Brokers are not only winning back market share, they also own the largest share of the most important demographic.

“It terms of mortgage originations, 52 per cent of mortgages were from banks, with 34 per cent from mortgage brokers  (and  the  remainder  from  credit  unions, life  insurance  or  trust  companies,  and  other lenders),” CAAMP’s annual spring report states.

These numbers reflect a slight improvement over origination stats released in the fall, which showed that 61 per cent of mortgages were originated by the big banks, compared to 31 per cent by brokers.

However, CAAMP changed the timeframe for this report, compiling data from homebuyers who purchased between January 2013 and May 2015, and it notes that “due  to  this  significant  change  in  the  sample  framework,  results  in  this  report  should  not  be compared to data from prior CAAMP surveys.”

Still, brokers currently own the largest share of first-time homebuyers.

“First-time buyers are more likely to use mortgage brokers (39 per cent) than the other buyer groups,” the report states.

This is good news, considering first-timers make up the largest proportion of homebuyers (45 per cent) – and, as every broker knows, when they provide good service, first-timers often become clients for life.

According to the report, 280,000 first-time homebuyers are expected to purchase this year, compared to 130,000 second-time buyers and 210,000 subsequent buyers.

And the fact that brokers own the largest share of first-time homebuyers is made all the more impressive when you consider that fewer first-timers consult with brokers than banks: 75 per cent of first-time buyers consulted with a bank rep, compared to just 61 per cent of first-time buyers who consulted with brokers.

To read the full report, click here.