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More than six out of 10 Australians would be keen to retain the services of a mortgage broker because doing so would "save" them from having to deal with the lenders themselves.

This is according to the 2010 Mortgage Choice Consumer Sentiment Survey, which found that of the 64% of the respondents who knew what services brokers provided, 61% said they would consider using one in the future.

The survey also found that more than half of the respondents felt that national regulation would make them more likely to use a broker, and that the group who had the best understanding of mortgage broking services were Gen X men in Western Australia. 

Mortgage Choice senior corporate affairs manager, Kristy Sheppard said the survey results suggested that national regulation would have a "powerful influence" on mortgage broker usage.

"It's been a long time coming. Today, around 40% of all new Australian home loans are sourced by brokers. Hopefully this will rise to 50% and beyond in the near future, as the industry better promotes itself and consumer perceptions of a mortgage broker's role and value proposition improve," she said.

In the survey 1,061 Australians, 536 of whom already had a mortgage, were questioned about a range of finance and property related matters. It was completed during the seven days preceding the November cash rate rise.

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