The poll of 5,000 UK adults conducted by lead generation firm Contact State found that while 17 per cent of mortgage holders began the search for their first loan online, those who would use the internet to source a quote doubled to 34 per cent when thinking about their next mortgage.
The inaugural report also found that 54 per cent of adults looked for more than one quote for a mortgage before proceeding, and the majority of those who got more than one quote only got two.
However, 73 per cent said if they were looking for a mortgage now, they would get more than one quote while 42 per cent would get at least three.
Data concerns
Despite seeing the value in searching for mortgage quotes online, respondents had worries about sharing their data and the ways it could be used by mortgage firms.
A quarter were concerned about sharing the occupation details while a third did not want to disclose their salary. Some 45 per cent did not want to give up their spending figures and two fifths were worried about sharing their ID.
Additionally, 28 per cent were hesitant to share their email address, while 37 per cent said the same about giving out their phone number.
Almost a third (29 per cent) cited having negative experiences after sharing their data with 30 per cent of those saying they had been called, emailed and texted too much.
A further 29 per cent said companies other than the one they submitted details to got in touch and 24 per cent were expecting to receive a quote online but got a phone call instead.
‘Opportunities and risks for brokers’
Thomas Brett, head of mortgages and lending at Contact State said the findings of the survey presented both opportunities and risks for brokers.
He added: “Gone are the days of getting one mortgage quote and then proceeding – people want to take more control of their financial decisions. However, our data shows that the landing pages they are seeing when they search for quotes are becoming increasingly ‘deceptive’, presenting themselves as an instant quote or calculation when in fact, they are lead generation pages.
“As consumers increasingly look for mortgage quotes online, there is a huge opportunity for mortgage brokers to win new business, however, if they buy data or leads from a source they don’t understand, not only is the quality of the customer enquiry going to vary wildly, but if that customer journey has been negative, as the buyer of that lead, the mortgage firm/broker could well be in breach of the Consumer Duty.”
