Bluestone Home Loans is temporarily eliminating the 0.30% p.a. investor loading fee on eligible new investor loans that are lodged in the next month and settled within 90 days of 7 April.
For a million-dollar loan that could be as much as $3,000 in savings annually.
"That's a lot of interest in a year that can be saved, which is pretty awesome," Aaron Taylor, head of non-standard lending for Bluestone APAC, told Australian Broker. "It's nearly 10% what investors are getting in their rental income. So it's a pretty sizable impact.
"There's a lot more [demand] in the market at the moment, since the RBA moved [in February]," he said. "As an investor trying to purchase a property, you want to be somewhat positive about where the market is heading. The RBA dropping interest rates has sort of brought back some of that positivity, which is nice.
"And the reality is, we're here to help customers that the banks are going to overlook. And so when we see the market react [with increased activity], we want to make sure that we can help as many customers as we can."
Australia's economy continues to see signs of a soft landing in 2025, with the nation's inflation seemingly under control and low levels of unemployment. Still, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to hold the official cash rate (OCR) at 4.10% at its monetary policy meeting earlier this month — despite property owners' cravings for another rate reduction — citing notable uncertainties about the outlook.
Tony MacRae, Bluestone’s chief commercial officer, said that rising costs and volatile market conditions, many of which are a result of ongoing geopolitical tensions abroad, are making it increasingly difficult for investors to continue investing.
"By waiving the investor loading [fees], we’re helping [investors] move forward with a more cost-effective lending solution," MacRae said. "We’ve always focused on making lending more accessible and tailored to real-world financial scenarios. This waiver is just another way we’re helping investors and brokers succeed in 2025."
All standard loan criteria apply and SMSF loans are excluded from the offer, Bluestone said.
Earlier this year, Bluestone turned 25. The non-bank lender celebrated with a brand refresh, rate discounts across all products and plans to launch a new digital, cloud-based AI-platform to expedite the verification process sometime in mid-2025. In addition, Bluestone is holding a series of roadshow events in major cities nationwide throughout the year. The first was held last month in Sydney with guest speaker Tim Lawless, head of research at CoreLogic Asia Pacific.
"We're really trying to help brokers understand where the opportunities might be for them," Taylor said. "And also, to maybe teach them something new that they might not have already known existed in the market."
Bluestone also broke its record in March for the most loan applications ever received in the company's history, Taylor said.
"I'd say we're probably doing three or four times more now than what we were doing 12, 18 to 24 months ago. So, it's really exciting to be a part of," he said.
"It's a reflection of the market; it's a reflection of the business. And it's a reflection of the work we're doing as a team to bring that level of service through to brokers," he said. "Brokers want to work with a lender that's going to help them get deals done. What we've seen in the last 12 months is — not only are we getting more brokers to work with us — but we're getting more brokers to work with us multiple times. Which shows that once brokers deal with us one time, they know we're going to help them get approvals done for their customers and really help them drive their business. So they're coming back again and again. And we get to see the brokers' businesses grow, which is amazing."
