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AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker, processed over $4 billion in home loans last month, its biggest month ever and the first time the company’s national 1,900 brokers have collectively broken through the $4 billion mark.
The aggregator says the $4.06 billion figure is 12% higher than the $3.6 billion million processed the month before, which was itself a record. The October 2013 figure is also 30% higher than that recorded by the company for October, 2012 and 61% higher than for October, 2011, which AFG says shows how far the mortgage market has recovered over the past two years.
Across the nation there were significant variations in different markets. South Australia’s figures were 19% higher than the month before and Victoria’s 18.8%. Queensland and New South Wales occupied the middle ground with increases of 11.8% and 10.9% respectively, while Western Australia’s volumes were up only 5% on September.
The WA figure did come off a high base and the relatively large number of first home buyers in the state was another reason why uplift was less dramatic than elsewhere, according to AFG general manager of sales and operations, Mark Hewitt.
“Low rates and intense competition amongst lenders are making the home loan market not only more attractive, but also more complex. Consumers are increasingly turning to brokers to help locate the overall package best suited to them.”
Fixed home loans held steady, accounting for 27.7% of all home loans processed.
AFG’s Mortgage Index again records huge disparities in the proportion of first home buyers across the different states: WA (23%), SA (16%), VIC (11%), QLD (6%), NSW (4%), in particular reflecting the withdrawal of first home grants in QLD and NSW.
