With the introduction of new buyer advocacy tech and a rapid Conditional Approval tool, Lendi Group is positioning itself to offer a significant edge to Australian buyers navigating a notoriously tricky property market.
David Hyman (pictured left), founder and CEO of Lendi Group, emphasised the importance of empowering buyers to make better-informed decisions and drew comparisons to the US market.
“The Australian market is fairly unique, especially in comparison to the US, where selling agents significantly outnumber buyer agents,” Hyman said.
“There are approximately 50,000 real estate agents in the Australian market with 500,000 sales a year and while every one of those is represented by a selling agent, buyers' agents have only penetrated 5% of the market.”
“This puts buyers at a disadvantage, making it a seller’s market where their interests are overwhelmingly protected.”
Hyman said it has never been more important to support a more informed consumer in market as Australian families are facing unprecedented rising living costs, low housing supply and stagnant wages.
“A well represented buyer is better equipped to negotiate fair prices and terms and can navigate the complex purchasing process with more confidence.”
To address this, Lendi Group is rolling out a suite of new services designed to bolster buyer advocacy.
Among these are trials of "Buying Buddy," a support service under the Lendi brand, and enhanced property experiences via the Aussie app.
This initiative provides comprehensive support, including free conveyancing services and improved confidence through streamlined approval processes, according to Lendi.
“We’re putting the power back into the hands of buyers and creating products that are absolute win-wins for customers and brokers,” Hyman said.
In Australia, mortgage brokers facilitate 73.7% of the $530b billion mortgage market per year, underscoring the importance of their role as a buyer advocate and trusted adviser in the market.
It also highlights the requirement to provide innovative solutions that give brokers the tools required to give buyers any advantage possible.
To accommodate these processes, Lendi Group has also recently launched Conditional Approval on its platform, which the company claimed provides certainty for buyers in their finance experience which is critical in the purchase process.
Conditional approval on the Lendi platform enables customers to receive on-the-spot pre-approval, transforming the customer experience by providing immediate clarity and confidence during the very first appointment.
For brokers, they can take customers out of the market early by giving them a conditional approval from their first appointment making it the fastest conditional approval in the industry.
On Conditional Approval, Lendi Group chief product officer, Travis Tyler (pictured right) said: “It takes usually less than 10 seconds – worst case 20 seconds – and tells the broker right away that they've got that conditional approval ready to go.
“There’s nothing else like it, and it doesn’t have any impact on the customer’s credit file. It’s a win-win for customers and for brokers,” said Tyler, who recently launched Aussie’s new app.
On why buyer advocacy is so important, Hyman said if Lendi continues to empower buyers in the property market by providing them with professional representation, education, and better access to data, it could have a “significant impact on affordability”.
“Australian buyers face a 20% higher disparity in time to buy and sell than the US where buyer’s agent penetration is ~85%,” Hyman said.
“This leaves a gaping hole in buyer advocacy in Australia, no one is on their side which is what we’re trying to fix. Buyers need allies.”
Overall, by equipping brokers with advanced tools to support buyers, Lendi Group aims to enhance the home loan process, making it faster, more efficient, and more accessible for all Australians.
