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Brokers have seen a significant boost in market share in the September quarter as buyers hurry to take advantage of low interest rates.
According to the MFAA’s latest figures, mortgage brokers wrote 46% of all home loans in the three months to the end of September – a total of $32bn.
This compares to about 40 per cent 18 months ago and a low of 38 per cent during the global financial crisis.
And the boom is unlikely to slow down any time soon, MFAA CEO Phil Naylor told the AFR.
“In the September quarter, [activity] has bumped that up a bit more. And what we are hearing from the major broking groups in October and November to date is that they are writing a lot of business so we would expect that percentage to be maintained and most likely increase.”
A larger proportion of these loans are also being directed towards second-tier lenders, said Naylor.
“It is too early to draw a wide conclusion on it, but there seems to be a dispersion of business into the second tier lenders, which is good from a competitive point of view,” he told AFR.
“So, whilst the major lenders are writing the bulk of the business, there just seems to be a swing to the tier-two lenders, who are writing more broker business. The broker channel is helping with competition.”
September also saw the total number of approved home loans rise by 4.4%, the largest gain in six months.
Investors continue to drive the market, however, with just first home buyers accounting for just 12.5% of loans.
