Mortgage broker vs going direct to the bank: which should you use
By Nathan Ellis · Updated 2026-06-30
Every mortgage broker in Perth will tell you they add value. Every bank’s home loan team will tell you the same thing about going direct. The honest answer is that both paths can work, but they suit different situations, and the difference comes down to who’s doing the comparing.
What changes when you go direct
Walking into your own bank means dealing with someone who can only offer that bank’s products. They know their own policies well, and if you already have a strong relationship with that lender, say a long transaction history or an existing mortgage, that familiarity can move things along. The tradeoff is you’re not seeing what else is on the market. You won’t know if a different lender would approve you faster, lend you more, or offer a lower rate for your exact profile unless you go and ask each one yourself.
What changes when you use a broker
A broker works across a panel of lenders, often ten or more, and their job is matching your situation to the lender most likely to say yes on good terms. That’s especially useful if your situation isn’t completely straightforward: self-employed income, a smaller deposit, an unusual property type, or a past credit issue. Different lenders assess these differently, and a broker who does this daily knows which ones are more flexible before you apply, rather than finding out after a knock-back on your credit file.
Comparing the two paths
| Going direct to your bank | Using a mortgage broker | |
|---|---|---|
| Lenders considered | One | Typically ten or more |
| Cost to you | None extra | None extra in most cases |
| Best suited to | Simple, strong-profile applications with an existing bank relationship | Self-employed, complex, or first-time applications |
| Paperwork handled by | You and the bank | Broker manages most of it |
| Application submitted to multiple lenders | No | Broker recommends the best fit first |
Where the corpus of broker reviews backs this up
Recurring feedback across Perth mortgage brokers points to two things people value most when they go the broker route: someone explaining the process clearly without jargon, and being helped through situations a single bank branch might not have the flexibility to handle, like self-employed applications or tight settlement timelines. That lines up with where brokers tend to add the most value, in the messier or more time-pressured cases rather than the simplest ones.
What happens if your first application is knocked back
This is where the two paths diverge most. If a bank declines your application, you’re often starting again from scratch, either with that same bank after fixing whatever the issue was, or by approaching a different lender cold and repeating the whole process. Multiple hard credit checks in a short period can also work against you.
A broker who knows the lending policies across their panel is more likely to pick a lender that fits before you apply, which reduces the chance of a knock-back in the first place. If a decline does happen, they can usually explain why and move to a lender with more suitable criteria without you having to rebuild the application from the beginning.
How long each path typically takes
Timelines vary by lender regardless of which path you take, since assessment queues and workloads shift throughout the year. What differs is who is managing that timeline. Going direct, you’re following up with the bank yourself. With a broker, chasing the lender for updates and flagging anything missing from your file is part of the service, which matters if you’re working to a tight settlement date.
So which should you pick?
If your income is straightforward, you’re an existing customer in good standing, and you’re comfortable comparing a couple of offers yourself, going direct can work fine. If you want someone to do that comparison for you, your situation has any complexity to it, or you’d rather have one person managing the paperwork and chasing the lender, a broker is the more common choice, and it’s why the large majority of Australian home loans are now written through brokers rather than bank branches.
If you’re leaning toward a broker but don’t know what that first meeting looks like, our guide on what to expect the first time you use a mortgage broker walks through each stage.
Either way, it’s worth getting at least one comparison point before you commit. Even if you plan to go direct, a quick conversation with a broker will tell you whether your bank’s offer is actually competitive. To see how local brokers are scored and ranked, read our scoring methodology.
FAQ
- Is it cheaper to go directly to my bank?
- Not usually. A broker is paid by the lender, not by you, so using one doesn't add to your cost. Going direct doesn't get you a discount for skipping the broker either, since bank pricing isn't set up that way.
- Will a bank give me a better rate than a broker can get?
- Sometimes, and it depends on the lender and your relationship with that bank. A broker's advantage isn't beating every bank's best offer, it's comparing many lenders at once so you're not relying on one institution's current pricing.
- Do brokers only deal with smaller lenders?
- No. Most brokers have the major banks on their panel alongside smaller lenders and non-banks. What varies is which lenders any individual broker works with, so it's worth asking to see their panel list.
- Can I use a broker and still talk to my own bank?
- Yes. Nothing stops you comparing a broker's recommendation against your bank's own offer before deciding. Some people do exactly that as a sanity check.