New research, commissioned by the Finance and Mortgage Advisers Association of NZ , says that the majority of New Zealanders are unfamiliar with the services offered by mortgage advisers, with only 28% indicating that they are extremely or very familiar.

Twenty two per cent are “not familiar at all”, rising to 34% of non-mortgage holders.

The results come as a surprise considering nearly two thirds of home loans originated by the big banks come from mortgage advisers and the percentage is arguably higher for the small banks.

FAMNZ managing director Peter White says the lack of awareness about mortgage advisers is “alarming and embarrassing.”

“It’s clear that we must do things differently so that more New Zealanders understand the advantages we bring,” he said.

“It starts with stepping out of complacency, working together, improving our communications and marketing, and for all advisers to be part of a professional industry body so that we have a louder voice.”

Even more frustrating, he says, is that more than a of respondents believe they need to pay a fee to access a mortgage adviser while the same percentage isn’t sure. This is despite the fact that the majority of mortgage advisers don’t charge any fee.

Reinforcing this lack of knowledge, three out of every four respondents were either unsure (49%) or incorrectly believe there is an extra cost (25%) when working with a mortgage adviser, and 28% agreed with the false statement that “mortgage advisers are too expensive for me to use” while 41% were not sure.

“These misconceptions are clearly hurting us and must be addressed urgently,” White said.