Lendi Group's expansion plans continue, with the Aussie brand taking center stage.
The privately-held Australian fintech home loans group — parent company to the Aussie and Lendi brands — laid out plans to both grow the Aussie Home Loans brand broker headcount and transform the business into a "fully-integrated property ecosystem," at its Lendi Thrive25 conference in Sydney on Tuesday.
"Today we're taking a giant leap forward as a business," Brad Cramb, chief distribution officer at Lendi Group, told Australian Broker. "We're moving from being a mortgage broker to a one-stop shop for all our customers' property needs.
"By bringing together buyer’s agents, conveyancing and property services under one roof, we’re creating a seamless journey from first search to final settlement — and beyond,” Cramb said.
Lendi Group co-founder and CEO David Hyman added: "Aussie [Home Loans] is more than a mortgage broker. By combining the strength of our broker network, trusted brand and cutting-edge technology, we're delivering what's been missing: a truly buyer-centric experience at [a] transformational scale.
"We are uniquely positioned to champion the customer and we're doing it at the perfect time," Hyman said, referring to the nation's current housing shortage and borrowers' increased reliance on brokers for their financial needs. The latest figures from the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) show that mortgage brokers settled approximately 76% of all new residential home loans during the December 2024 quarter.
"We're home to two of Australia's top four brokerages; we have the most advanced digital platform, and we're more laser focused on the buyer than we have ever been," Hyman said. "That's a trifecta no one else can match. We're unlocking new possibilities for Australians to find, buy and own property, with the Aussie [brand] by their side."
Lendi Group — which was formed in May 2021 after Lendi and Aussie Home Loans merged — has been on a mission in recent months to make Aussie the premier broker brand in Australia. Efforts have included the launch of the Aussie app in 2024.
At Sydney's International Convention Centre on Tuesday, the group unveiled a number of new products and services for the Aussie brand. The list includes updated technology, such as AI functions, new search features, access to a greater pool of potential buyer agents, expanded conveyancing features, a new bridging loan product, a data collaboration with the digital Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) platform, a referral platform, equity updates and immediate sellers assistance.
The group's strategy also includes growing the Aussie brand's broker headcount by roughly 20% in 2025 — thanks to increased interest from brokers nationwide — and plans to house Australia's largest buyers' agent service under the Aussie brand. The hope, a representative from the company said, was to make the Aussie brand, including its stores, a full-service stop for all borrower and broker needs, rather than referring potential clients out to third parties.
"Right now, the experience for buyers and owners is fragmented and full of duplication," Cramb said. "We have integrated core mortgage broker expertise with a range of new and expanded services [into the Aussie brand] that will support customers at every touchpoint in the property journey and create new value for brokers."
Here's a look at some of the other updated features.
The Aussie brand's "find" services, or updated search features, help borrowers locate the best possible solutions for them by giving them all of their options up front. The "Aussie Homes" search platform, part of the Aussie app, gives borrowers instant access to more than 11 million property listings, including pre-market listings. Potential borrowers also have access to information, such as property reports and suburb profiles. Real estate agents can also connect their listing to the platform. In addition, the platform can connect prospective buyers to Aussie buyers' agents.
"If you think about the current landscape, the experience from starting your property search through to conveyancing, settlement and beyond, it’s not a simple journey," Hyman said. "Customers get bounced between service providers, re-entering the same information, filling out duplicate forms and dealing with unnecessary complexity."
Aussie's new and improved smart features are meant to solve this. For example, the partnership with PEXA gives brokers complete access to borrower application statuses, helping to reduce costs, Lendi said. In addition, brokers will have access to conveyancing — or the legal process of transferring ownership of property from one person to another — with the "Aussie Conveyancing" function. This will allow them to track and view the process for customers. The Aussie brand also plans to expand its conveyancing to sell-side customers, such as downsizers or upgraders. In addition, the Aussie brand is introducing the "Aussie for Agents" referral platform, which will connect agents and sellers. And agents will also be able to list properties on the platform.
The own, or owner, services are meant to assist homeowners by managing their mortgages. They can also be used to find a buyer's next property, renovate or sell. The "live equity with open banking" feature, also within the Aussie app, allows homeowners to instantly track their home loan and equity position. The company added that an "always on financial health tracker" is coming next. In addition, the "sellers assist" feature makes it easier for brokers to offer comparison services to homeowners who are considering putting their property on the market. It also connects sellers with agents.
