Mortgage broker market share has jumped 27% in a year, according to the January to March data released by the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
The overall value of new loans written by brokers across the first part of 2021 was over $62.2 billion, a rise of $13.2 billion on the same period in 2020. That makes the first quarter of 2021 the second-best quarter ever recorded, only bettered by the last quarter of 2020.
Market share has also remained strong, with 57.5% off all new home loans settled by the broker channel. That is a slight drop on the 61% market share that mortgage broker segment registered in the latter past of 2020, but is still historically high and 5% up on the equivalent period of 2020.
The news comes despite on the ongoing issues with turnaround times that are being seen across the sector. Turnaround times are an increasingly large pain point for brokers, with the MFAA going as far as releasing statements expressing their frustration at the amount of time it takes for lenders to approve loans.
“Data released by major aggregator AFG earlier this year showed that turnaround times had spiked to a three-year high for AFG brokers to a median across all lenders of 27.1 days for the quarter ending 31 March 2021 which will no doubt have hampered mortgage broker market share for the quarter,” said MFAA CEO Mike Felton.
“This outstanding broker market share result however provides encouraging signs for the potential market share mortgage brokers could attain if turnaround differentials between branches and the broker channel for the major banks are eradicated and discharges start to occur within a reasonable period, both of which remain a key focus for the MFAA.”
“Ultimately, these results show yet again the resilience of brokers who continue to meet and overcome the external challenges they face thanks to an unwavering focus on customer outcomes and professional service.”
