Mortgage Brokers Now Close Half of All First-Time Buyer Deals in Canada
Twenty years ago, fewer than one in five mortgage applications crossed a broker's desk. In 2025, brokers handled 38% of all mortgage originations in Canada, and among first-time buyers who closed within the past 12 months, that figure was 48%.
The shift isn't just about rates, though rate competition remains a factor. What changed is the structure of the advice relationship. A first-time buyer in 2010 typically walked into a branch and spoke with the lender's salaried representative, who showed them what that one institution could offer. Today, that same buyer is more likely to begin with a broker who can quote from 15 or 20 lenders simultaneously, match the borrower's income and employment profile against eligibility grids most borrowers cannot access on their own, and explain why one 5-year fixed at 4.89% differs meaningfully from another at 4.84% when the fine print diverges on prepayment terms or portability.
The data comes from Mortgage Professionals Canada's 2025 origination study, which tracks how borrowers found financing across all buyer cohorts and regions. Broker usage rose year-over-year in every buyer category. Among repeat buyers, the share climbed to 36%. In British Columbia, brokers now handle 43% of originations. In Ontario, the figure is 41%. Even in Quebec, where the branch model held longer, broker share reached 32%.
Why first-time buyers drive the shift
The 48% figure for recent first-time buyers is higher than the national average for a structural reason. First-time buyers face the tightest eligibility constraints. A household earning $95,000 with $40,000 saved can qualify at one lender and be declined at another, depending on how each institution applies the stress test, weights employment type, or factors in property taxes and condo fees. A broker who tracks these differences daily can route the application to the lender most likely to approve it without forcing the buyer to restart the process.
This matters more in 2025 than it did in 2019 because affordability has compressed. Median home prices relative to median household incomes are higher in Toronto, Vancouver, and most mid-sized Ontario and BC cities than they were five years ago. Borrowers at the margin, which includes most first-time buyers, cannot afford to guess wrong on which lender will approve them.
Advice became a bigger factor than it was when rates sat at 2.5%. MPC's survey found that 63% of broker clients cited "advice and guidance" as a reason for using a broker, up from 57% in the prior year. Rate competitiveness was still the top reason at 71%, but the gap narrowed. Borrowers wanted both.
The repeat-buyer cohort uses brokers at a lower rate, 36%, partly because they often return to the lender who holds their existing mortgage and can port or blend the rate. That path remains simpler when it's available, which is why broker share among repeat buyers lags the first-time cohort by 12 percentage points.
What the trend implies for lenders
When a channel moves from 20% market share to 38% over two decades, the institutions that underestimated the shift lose access to nearly four in ten borrowers. Some lenders responded by expanding broker partnerships. Others doubled down on direct-to-consumer digital platforms. What did not work was assuming the branch model would stabilize on its own.
The broker share will likely continue rising. First-time buyers, who drive the shift, are not becoming less constrained. If anything, higher prices and tighter lending rules push more borrowers toward advisors who can navigate eligibility on their behalf. The branch still serves borrowers with simple profiles and existing relationships, but the marginal buyer now starts with a broker.
Twenty years ago, fewer than one in five mortgage applications crossed a broker's desk. In 2025, brokers handled 38% of all mortgage originations in Canada, and among first-time buyers who closed within the past 12 months, that figure was 48%.
The shift isn't just about rates, though rate competition remains a factor. What changed is the structure of the advice relationship. A first-time buyer in 2010 typically walked into a branch and spoke with the lender's salaried representative, who showed them what that one institution could offer. Today, that same buyer is more likely to begin with a broker who can quote from 15 or 20 lenders simultaneously, match the borrower's income and employment profile against eligibility grids most borrowers cannot access on their own, and explain why one 5-year fixed at 4.89% differs meaningfully from another at 4.84% when the fine print diverges on prepayment terms or portability.
The data comes from Mortgage Professionals Canada's 2025 origination study, which tracks how borrowers found financing across all buyer cohorts and regions. Broker usage rose year-over-year in every buyer category. Among repeat buyers, the share climbed to 36%. In British Columbia, brokers now handle 43% of originations. In Ontario, the figure is 41%. Even in Quebec, where the branch model held longer, broker share reached 32%.
Why first-time buyers drive the shift
The 48% figure for recent first-time buyers is higher than the national average for a structural reason. First-time buyers face the tightest eligibility constraints. A household earning $95,000 with $40,000 saved can qualify at one lender and be declined at another, depending on how each institution applies the stress test, weights employment type, or factors in property taxes and condo fees. A broker who tracks these differences daily can route the application to the lender most likely to approve it without forcing the buyer to restart the process.
This matters more in 2025 than it did in 2019 because affordability has compressed. Median home prices relative to median household incomes are higher in Toronto, Vancouver, and most mid-sized Ontario and BC cities than they were five years ago. Borrowers at the margin, which includes most first-time buyers, cannot afford to guess wrong on which lender will approve them.
Advice became a bigger factor than it was when rates sat at 2.5%. MPC's survey found that 63% of broker clients cited "advice and guidance" as a reason for using a broker, up from 57% in the prior year. Rate competitiveness was still the top reason at 71%, but the gap narrowed. Borrowers wanted both.
The repeat-buyer cohort uses brokers at a lower rate, 36%, partly because they often return to the lender who holds their existing mortgage and can port or blend the rate. That path remains simpler when it's available, which is why broker share among repeat buyers lags the first-time cohort by 12 percentage points.
What the trend implies for lenders
When a channel moves from 20% market share to 38% over two decades, the institutions that underestimated the shift lose access to nearly four in ten borrowers. Some lenders responded by expanding broker partnerships. Others doubled down on direct-to-consumer digital platforms. What did not work was assuming the branch model would stabilize on its own.
The broker share will likely continue rising. First-time buyers, who drive the shift, are not becoming less constrained. If anything, higher prices and tighter lending rules push more borrowers toward advisors who can navigate eligibility on their behalf. The branch still serves borrowers with simple profiles and existing relationships, but the marginal buyer now starts with a broker.
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