The report drew on data supplied by 12 major aggregators from October 2018 to March 2019 and, while broker channel activity for the period achieved a record high market share of 59.7%, the average value of new home loans per broker declined at a rate “far greater than ever before,” down 10.66% on the year prior.
The number of loan applications also reached uncharted territories, with applications down 8.53% from the period before and 13.39% year-on-year.
Further, the average number of applications lodged per broker declined across all states except Tasmania.
The broker population is down from a record high of 17,040 industry participants, with the net industry turnover – accounting for those joining and leaving the industry, as well as those moving between aggregators – up to 10.9% from 9.6% a year ago.
Notably, despite the proportion of new female recruits increasing by 10% compared to new male recruits, the population of female brokers declined over the six months, down 1.79%.
All of these factors contributed to a fall in the average total broker remuneration “to the lowest levels ever observed” by the IISR.
Average combined remuneration has dropped 3.49% from the last six month period and is down 3.08% year on year. Compared to the high of April to September in 2016, it’s down 9.64%.
The report linked the decline to the lower upfront commissions as trail increased across all states.
The MFAA reiterated throughout the report that the inhospitable credit environment did not only impact the broker channel, as the value of home loans settled directly with lenders was down 15.71% from the last six months and 19.1% from the year before.
