Brokers' share of home loan market hits $52.2bn

Brokers settled $52.24bn in residential home loans in the quarter to December 2017, giving them a 53.6% share of the home loan market, up from 51.9% in the December 2016 quarter, said MFAA yesterday.

In total, finance brokers settled just under $200bn in residential mortgage loans in 2017.

The industry association said it is the largest quarterly value recorded for third-party origination since data collection began in 2012. It is also the highest December quarter figure, period-on-period, in what is usually a slightly weaker quarter for broker share.

Indeed, the quarter was relatively weaker when compared to the preceding one in 2017. As Australian Broker reported in November, finance brokers settled 55.7% – or $51.8bn – of all residential mortgages in the September 2017 quarter, up by 2.1 percentage points from the September 2016 quarter.

MFAA expects brokers’ share of the market to surpass 60% in the next few years.

The quarterly data, compiled by CoreLogic-owned Comparator, is derived by calculating the value of loans settled by 19 of the leading brokers and aggregators as a percentage of ABS Housing Finance commitments.

MFAA CEO Mike Felton said the latest data is a strong affirmation of the service and solutions brokers deliver to customers, and that it indicates the broker channel is both healthy and an increasingly important part of the Australian economy

“This is a great result for brokers and is particularly important as it follows a period of increased external scrutiny of the industry and the introduction of a number of prudential measures which may have had a negative impact on the broker channel,” he said.  

Noting the “unprecedented level” of regulatory change the industry has faced the past 12 months, Felton said the attention on brokers is not surprising given the systemic importance of mortgage broking to Australia’s economy.

 “Brokers are constantly adapting to meet the changes ahead with the single focus of continuing to provide an excellent and personal service that meets the customer’s needs,” he said.