West Brom Building Society has launched a regional spring campaign after new research suggested a sizeable share of first-time buyers feel daunted by the mortgage process before they even begin.

The mutual said its findings point to a confidence problem among prospective borrowers, with many unsure how lenders assess applications or what steps they should take at the outset.

According to the research, 36% of first-time buyers said they felt nervous about the mortgage process before getting started, while 32% said they felt overwhelmed when taking out their first mortgage.

A further 44% said they did not fully understand the process, and 37% said they had heard beforehand that getting a mortgage was “stressful” or “difficult”.

For lenders, brokers and advisers, the figures suggest that borrower hesitation may be shaped as much by perception and lack of understanding as by the financial barriers that usually dominate discussion around first-time buyers.

West Brom said its new campaign will run across billboards, bus backs and digital channels, with a focus on explaining the mortgage journey in more practical terms. The campaign is intended to use customer experiences and straightforward guidance to address issues such as affordability, credit history and the role of securing a decision in principle.

Alasdair McDonald, head of mortgage distribution at West Brom Building Society, said: “For many first-time buyers, the biggest barrier isn’t always affordability, it can be confidence. Our research shows that too many people feel overwhelmed by the process or just assume they won’t be eligible.

“We want to reassure customers that with the right support and advice, the path to home ownership can be much clearer and more manageable than they might expect.”

The society said the campaign will also feature customers who initially believed they would struggle to get onto the housing ladder, but were able to secure a mortgage after receiving further guidance.

One case study highlights Julie, who had assumed she had “missed her chance” to buy a home before later exploring shared ownership. Another centres on Evie and Myles, who said they had twice been told they were unlikely to get a mortgage or would face materially higher rates, before a later conversation led to a different outcome.

The approach reflects a broader attempt to show that first-time buyers who encounter an initial setback may still have options, whether through different products, ownership structures or a better understanding of lender criteria.

For intermediaries, the research also underlines the continuing importance of education and expectation-setting early in the advice journey, particularly for borrowers approaching the market with limited confidence and patchy knowledge of how mortgage decisions are made.

West Brom said the campaign is designed to encourage would-be buyers to seek advice, understand the choices available to them and avoid writing off their chances too early in the process.