This is according to a survey of 617 mortgage intermediaries carried out by Kensington Mortgages. The research found that nearly one in five (18%) say over half of the clients they have seen in the past three months were talking to a mortgage adviser for the first time.
In addition, over a third of intermediaries (34%) say that between a quarter and a half of their clients in the last quarter had never been to a mortgage broker before.
Charles Morley, head of sales at Kensington, said: "It is incredibly encouraging that so many intermediaries are seeing such a large proportion of clients who have never sought the help of an adviser before.
"This shows that more borrowers are recognising the benefits of professional advice, both in terms of helping them to make the right decision, but also in accessing lenders that are able to offer intelligent lending, rather than a one-size-fits-all tick box approach.
"I would recommend that intermediaries take this information on board and use it to go out and promote their services to new customers. There is clearly a previously untapped appetite for mortgage advice out there and this could fuel business growth, which looks very much like a flat market in the coming months."
