National survey · what 2,000 Canadians said
By Nick Bachusky, Mortgage Agent Level 1 · Published
If you are wondering why use a mortgage broker at all, there is now a national answer rather than an opinion. More Canadians went through a broker in 2025 than in any of the previous five years, and the reasons go well beyond chasing the lowest rate.
The numbers below come from The Broker Advantage, a report from Mortgage Professionals Canada based on a 20 minute online survey of close to 2,000 Canadians, run by Bond Brand Loyalty between February 5 and 25, 2026. The share figures describe mortgages taken in 2025.
I have pulled out what I think actually matters to you, added the parts most coverage skipped, and been honest about the catch. If you want to see how I work before any of this, that is on my how it works page.
The short version
Access to the best rate is still the number one reason, cited by 54% of broker clients. Getting multiple quotes follows at 33%, understanding the options and the process at 31%, and lender recommendations at 26%. So price leads, but advice is close behind it.
What I find telling is the bottom half of that list. A quarter of people said they used a broker for help with the paperwork, and another quarter said it was to avoid doing the research themselves. Those are not rate reasons. Those are workload reasons.
Here is the full list, with the first-time buyer column beside it, because that group moved the most.
| Reason for using a broker | All broker clients | Recent first-time buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Access to the best rate | 54% | Top reason overall, down 5 pts |
| Getting multiple quotes | 33% | Comparison, not a single shelf |
| Understanding options and process | 31% | 40%, up 14 pts |
| Lender recommendations | 26% | 28%, up 10 pts |
| Help with the paperwork | 25% | Document handling |
| Avoiding the research themselves | 25% | Time saved |
| Better customer service | 24% | 28%, up 12 pts |
| Products matched to their needs | 19% | 22%, up 6 pts |
Source: Bond Brand Loyalty and Mortgage Professionals Canada, 2026 Consumer Survey. Respondents could give more than one reason, so the column does not total 100%.
See it move
Yes, and by a clear margin. Broker share reached 38% of recent homebuyers in 2025, up 6 points from 32% in 2024 and the highest level in five years. Among recent first-time buyers it reached 48%, a 10 point jump.
Tap any year to see the number. The five year line is worth a look on its own, because the story is not a steady climb. Share dipped, recovered, dipped again, then jumped.
Share of recent homebuyers who used a broker
Where the 2025 gains came from
All figures from the 2026 Consumer Survey, page 3. Change shown against 2024.
The line that jumps out at me is the age gap. Buyers under 35 used a broker 44% of the time. Buyers 55 and over used one just 24% of the time, and that group barely moved, up a single point. Broker use is becoming a generational habit, and the people with the most equity are the least likely to shop.
Satisfaction backs the trend up. Among current mortgage holders who used a broker, 83% said they would recommend theirs, a five year high, and 72% said they would use one again.
Rate still leads at 54%, but it is losing ground. That reason fell 5 points in a year, while the advice reasons climbed. Among recent first-time buyers, using a broker to understand the options and the process rose 14 points to 40%.
This is the part of the report most coverage skipped, and it is the most useful line in it. Every article you will read about brokers frames us as a price shopping tool. The people actually using brokers have started to describe something different.
Look at where first-time buyers moved. Lender recommendations up 10 points to 28%. Better customer service up 12 points to 28%. Products matched to their needs up 6 points to 22%. Every one of those is an advice reason, and every one grew faster than rate.
A rate is not just a rate. The penalty matters, and so does whether anyone explained it to you.
If you are buying for the first time, that shift tells you something practical. The value is not only the number you are quoted. It is having someone walk you through a process you have never done before, and flag the parts that cost real money later. The break penalty is the clearest example, and it is why I look at total cost rather than headline rate on every file.
On the rate itself, there is still plenty you can do. I have written up what actually moves the number you are offered, including the wording that gets a lender to improve it.
No, and the data is blunt about it. Among borrowers who used a broker in 2025, 56% ended up with one of the big banks, up from 53% the year before. Big banks gained share through the broker channel, while non-bank lenders and mortgage investment corporations both moved lower.
This is the suspicion I hear most often, usually phrased as some version of "do I need a mortgage broker if I just want my own bank". The answer is that a broker is not an alternative to the banks. It is a way to make them compete.
| Lender type used, via a broker | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| One of the big banks | 56% | 53% |
| Non-bank lender or small bank lender | 19% | 25% |
| Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC) | 11% | 13% |
| Credit union, life insurer or trust company | 8% | 4% |
From my own funded files
I can put my own book beside that national number. Across my last 38 funded mortgages I used 13 different lenders. Scotiabank was the single largest at 11 files. In total 16 went to a big bank, and the other 22 went to credit unions, mortgage-only lenders and alternative lenders.
So on my desk the big banks won about 42% of the time, against 56% nationally. Not because I avoid them, but because a credit union or a mortgage-only lender often wins once you count the penalty to get out. That is the whole job.
Distribution across funded files, 2025 to 2026. No client details, by design. Mortgages are private and I do not publish names or stories.
That last point is worth saying plainly, because it is the honest version of what a broker is for. You are not paying a toll to reach a lender you could have called yourself. You are getting the banks quoted against the lenders they do not want you comparing them to.
Fixed still dominates at 70% of Canadian mortgages. Variable rose to 26%, its first increase in three years, and hybrids make up the remaining 4%. Among variable holders the payment split is nearly even: 55% have payments that move with prime, 45% have a set payment.
Two things stand out. Variable is being picked again after three years of decline, which usually signals people expect rates to fall rather than rise. And borrowers cannot agree on how they want a variable to behave, which is a detail most people do not even know is a choice.
That second one catches people out. On some variable mortgages your payment moves every time prime moves. On others the payment stays flat and the split between interest and principal shifts underneath it. Same rate, very different feeling when rates jump.
The survey tells you what people chose, not what you should choose. If you want my actual opinion on the trade-off, that is a separate read: fixed vs variable, and what I would choose right now. And if you want today's numbers, see current Ottawa mortgage rates.
Awareness is uneven and the Home Buyers' Plan trails badly. Among Canadians who do not own a home, 55% know the TFSA, 53% know the First Home Savings Account and only 43% know the Home Buyers' Plan. One in five is unaware of all three.
Usage climbs sharply once a purchase gets close, which tells you the problem is timing rather than interest. People find these tools when they start shopping, which is years after the point they would have been most useful.
| Savings tool | Aware of it | Using it | Buying within 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) | 55% | 46% | 67% +21 pts |
| First Home Savings Account (FHSA) | 53% | 32% | 48% +16 pts |
| Home Buyers' Plan (RRSP funds) | 43% | 31% | 57% +26 pts |
The two that get missed are worth real money. An FHSA takes up to $8,000 a year to a $40,000 lifetime maximum, and unused room carries forward, so a single year can take up to $16,000 if you skipped a year. The Home Buyers' Plan now lets one person withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP.
If you are saving toward a purchase and only using one of the three, that is worth a conversation. I break every current program down in first-time home buyer programs in Ontario, and if you are earlier than that, start with buying your first home in Ottawa.
The same pattern shows up with older homeowners, just inverted. Among Canadians aged 55 and over, 43% are at least somewhat familiar with reverse mortgages, 15% would at least somewhat consider one, and 1% actually have one. Another 57% say they are not at all likely to consider one.
Among those who have one or would consider it, the reasons were staying in their current home at 38%, supplementing retirement income at 33%, and covering unexpected expenses at 26%. That gap between knowing about it and using it usually means nobody has sat down and explained whether it fits. If that is you or a parent, my reverse mortgage page covers how it works in plain language, including the parts people do not like.
The real downside is that not every broker shops the whole market, and you cannot tell from the outside. Some place most of their files with one or two lenders out of habit or convenience. You get a comparison in name only, and the survey cannot measure that.
I would rather say this than pretend it does not happen. When people ask are mortgage brokers worth it, the fair answer is that it depends entirely on the individual, and the ones who ask that question have usually already sensed the catch. The most common worry I hear is that a broker is incentivised to get you a mortgage rather than the best mortgage. That is a legitimate concern.
So here is how to check, whoever you end up working with. These are the questions I would want asked of me.
The other honest limit: if your file is straightforward and your own bank already wants your business badly, they can occasionally match or beat what I can find. I will tell you when that happens. It does not happen often, but the benefits of using a mortgage broker are real comparison and real advice, not a guarantee of the lowest number on earth.
If you are still asking should I use a mortgage broker after all that, the deciding factor is usually how complicated your situation is and how much of the legwork you want to do yourself. Self-employed income, a separation, a renewal you want leverage on, a rental in the mix: those are the files where comparison pays for itself. You can see the full list of what I handle on my mortgage services page.
Still wondering?
Yes. Broker share reached 38% of recent homebuyers in 2025, a six point increase over 2024 and the highest level in five years. Recent first-time buyers drove the biggest gain, rising 10 points to 48%. The figures come from a national survey of close to 2,000 Canadians.
Access to the best rate is still the top reason at 54%. After that come getting multiple quotes at 33%, understanding the options and the process at 31%, and lender recommendations at 26%. The rate reason fell 5 points in a year while the advice reasons rose, so the mix is shifting.
The honest one is that not every broker shops the whole market, and you cannot see that from the outside. Some place most files with one or two lenders. Ask how many lenders they actually funded with last year, and ask what your penalty would be to break the mortgage early. A broker who answers both plainly is doing the job properly.
On a standard residential mortgage in Ontario there is no fee for my service, so the question is really about value rather than price. What you are getting is comparison across banks, credit unions and mortgage-only lenders instead of one lender’s shelf. Nick Bachusky is a licensed Mortgage Agent working under Referral Mortgages Inc.
Fixed still dominates. Fixed-rate mortgages account for 70% of Canadian mortgages, while variable rose to 26%, its first increase in three years. Hybrids make up the remaining 4%. Among variable holders the split is close to even, with 55% on payments that move with prime and 45% on a set payment.
The three main tools are the Tax-Free Savings Account, the First Home Savings Account and the Home Buyers’ Plan using RRSP funds. Awareness sits at 55%, 53% and 43%. One in five Canadians who do not own a home is unaware of all three, which is the gap worth closing before you start shopping.
About the author
I am Nick Bachusky, a Mortgage Agent Level 1 working under Referral Mortgages Inc. (FSRA #13316). I have spent 14 years in mortgages, including time at RBC and TD, so I have seen this from both sides of the desk.
I work one file at a time and keep it plain. Every client should feel like my only client. If you want a second opinion on what you have been offered, I am one WhatsApp message away.
Nick Bachusky · Mortgage Agent Level 1 · Referral Mortgages Inc. · FSRA #13316. Survey figures on this page are from the 2026 Consumer Survey by Bond Brand Loyalty and Mortgage Professionals Canada and describe 2025 mortgages. They are not a forecast, a quote or a guarantee.
Keep reading
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Get in touch
Getting a mortgage does not need to be stressful. Leave your details and I reply within about 30 minutes during business hours.
Whether you are weighing fixed against variable, wondering which savings tools apply to you, or just want a second set of eyes on a renewal letter, I am happy to walk through it. No pressure, no exclusivity.
Nick Bachusky · Mortgage Agent Level 1 · Referral Mortgages Inc. · FSRA #13316. Ottawa and the surrounding area.