Poll results: Majority of brokers will avoid RateHub

Mortgage brokers across Canada have spoken and the results are in: The vast majority of industry professionals say they will avoid using RateHub.ca’s online services after finding out about the company’s plans to establish a brokerage that will directly compete for leads.

Mortgage brokers across Canada have spoken and the results are in: The vast majority of industry professionals say they will avoid using RateHub.ca’s online services after finding out about the company’s plans to establish a brokerage that will directly compete for leads.

74 per cent of participants in a recent MortgageBrokerNews.ca said they would not use RateHub’s services going forward because they view the move to establish a competing brokerage as a conflict of interest. These sentiments have been streaming in since news broke about the fledgling RateHub mortgage brokerage.

“Anyone who would still support RateHub is short-sighted,” Jake Abramowicz of Mortgage Edge wrote on MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “The massive database, social media follow and potential conflict-of-interest they pose is huge, and you're doing yourself and the industry a disservice by competing within the game. Get off the train and focus on building a better business.”

However, not everyone shares the same view.

“We currently use RateHub, and will continue to do so,” Michael Mullis of Mortgage Teacher wrote on MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Yes, this brokerage announcement will have us monitor it even closer, and perhaps we are not the biggest fans or rate sites but they can work.”

Regardless, as many have pointed out rate sites will continue to be a permanent fixture in the Canadian mortgage lending world. But will brokers flock to one of RateHub’s competitors?

“Rate sites in their current and future form will be here to stay,” Vince Gaetano of MonsterMortgage.ca wrote on MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “The consumer wins and mortgage brokers will need to work harder and smarter.”