The 2022 federal Budget delivered plenty of incentives to boost brokers and the property market, says online home loan marketplace Joust.
The government announced last week it would boost the Home Guarantee Scheme to 50,000 places per year for three years, making it easier for first home buyers, regional residents and single parents to buy a home. This includes the New Home Guarantee Scheme (35,000 guarantees), the Regional Home Guarantee Scheme (10,000 guarantees) and the Family Home Guarantee Scheme (5,000 guarantees).
“Brokers can expect to benefit in a few different ways from the budget,” said Joust chief revenue officer Anny Le Wilson (pictured).
“The market will be stimulated, and more people will be reaching out to brokers to see if they’re eligible for the guarantee schemes.”
Le Wilson said the schemes are short-term solutions for the property market and brokers should see a slow uplift from it.
“It’s safe to say over half of the 150,000 participants over three years will go through a broker channel, however, given the amount of competition in the brokerage space, the overall numbers will be significantly small for each broker, and some might not see any uplift at all,” she said.
With the price cap of $800,000 in NSW, $750,000 in Victoria, and $500,000 in Queensland, many Australians are limited in where they can buy, resulting in smaller deals for brokers.
“Given in some metro areas property has increased by more than 25%, the price caps should be reviewed,” Le Wilson said. “First home buyers and brokers would be better positioned to benefit from this scheme if these price caps were increased or at least aligned with property growth by specific areas.”
Home loan enquiries would increase as public sentiment and market direction lifted demand for housing, which benefited brokers directly and indirectly.
“Brokers who are authorised to support the guarantee schemes will be able to offer their clients a wider range of products and will therefore be able to help more valued customers across Australia,” she said.
Le Wilson said the introduced price caps will see certain property locations gain a boost in popularity, allowing brokers to access a new audience.
“Clever brokers who see an uptick in customer acquisition or inbound enquiries will be able to build a stronger referral pipeline,” she noted.
Read more: Brokers break home loan settlement record
Joust CEO Carl Hammerschmidt said a 5% deposit for a home was a dream come true for many Australians.
“With the government guaranteeing the other 15%, this scheme will be of great assistance to young people trying to get into the market,” Hammerschmidt said.
“It will allow borrowers who participate to avoid paying tens of thousands of dollars in lenders mortgage insurance, so with the average house price in Australia's capital cities exceeding $1 million, it’s great to see the Morrison Government helping keep the Australian dream of owning a home alive.”
