82% of homeowners want more to be done to make it easier for new lenders to make in-roads in the mortgage market, according to new research from Castle Trust.

They believe new lenders such as Tesco, Virgin Money and M&S, as well as other new entrants, can help break the dominance of the big six lenders and provide more creative approaches to mortgage lending, the study shows.

The housing investment and equity loan provider believes its research shows homeowners are looking to building societies and new entrants to lead the way in offering innovative mortgage products. 67% of mortgage holders believe new entrants will focus on customer needs with just 14% expecting the same from traditional lenders.

Levels of trust are highest for building societies – 51% of people say they trust mutuals most to offer innovative mortgage solutions. This rises to 58% for those aged 45 and over.

Meanwhile, the findings also reveal that 40% of people in the key house buying age group of 25 – 44 would welcome the opportunity to sign up to an equity loan. 56% of mortgage customers would like to see their existing mortgage lender offer equity loans alongside their traditional mortgage offerings.

Sean Oldfield, chief executive officer, Castle Trust said: “Increased competition in the mortgage market is clearly welcome and new lenders and building societies have a major role to play.

“The mortgage market needs greater innovation and a wider selection of products than those currently on offer. The legacy issues faced by many of the Big Six lenders have led borrowers to believe this innovation is more likely to come from new entrants, but it is an issue that needs to be addressed by the entire mortgage market.”