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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
The lending market is showing signs of life, with AFG recording a 40 per cent jump in its number of mortgages processed.
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According to the aggregator, $3.2 billion worth of mortgages were processed in April 2013 – up from $2.2 billion this time last year.
April’s $3.2 billion figure was the company’s largest ever volume for one month – following a record-breaking month in March, when the broker arranged $3.17 billion in home loans.
For the past three years, April figures have been lower than in March, but this year’s surge bucked the trend.
AFG’s general manager of sales and operations, Mark Hewitt, said that because of greater certainty that low rates will be around for some time there is more confidence in the market.
“But recovery, like property price growth, is very patchy. For example, in both NSW and Queensland first home buyers comprise only 3.5 per cent of the market – about a quarter of the long-term figure. The broker share of the market looks to be growing as borrowers become increasingly aware of the choice that exists, and the benefit of getting professional help to secure the best deal,” he said.
Fixed rate loans, already at an all-time high of 29.6 per cent in March, rose to a new record of 30.7 per cent of all home loan types in April, as more borrowers choose to lock in historically low rates.
