The study revealed that 41% of future first-time buyers said they remained undecided on which sales channel to use.
The UKMC said the 41% were a key group for mortgage providers who were looking to engage first time buyers.
Anna Spivack, analyst at RFi, said: “Arranging via an IFA or mortgage broker is a danger point for main financial institutions, in that potential customers are then likely to be diverted elsewhere.
“Alongside the increased likelihood of taking a mortgage elsewhere, data from our wider cohort of current mortgage holders suggested that once a mortgage holder had arranged via an IFA, they tended to use that route for the next mortgage arrangement as well.
“This indicates that if lenders lose the future first-time buyer at this point, it will be a challenge to re-engage them later on.”
RFi’s UK Mortgage Council surveyed 1727 mortgage holders and 333 future first-time buyers between 26 November 2011 and 6 December 2011.
