Westpac mortgages climb 6.9pc, growth set to continue

The group includes Westpac, St George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, RAMS and BT Financial Group.

Brokers wrote 43.4 per cent of mortgage volumes in 2013/2014, compared to 42 per cent the previous year.

Australian housing lending rose 6.9 per cent to $351 billion, which represented a 25 per cent market share.

Housing credit growth climbed from 0.7 times system to 0.9 times system, which Westpac said was due to "enhancements to all elements of the mortgage process from application through to settlement".

The average mortgage size grew 3.6 per cent to $229,000, while the average LVR fell from 72 to 71 per cent.

First home buyer business fell from an 11.4 per cent share to 10.3 per cent.

The owner-occupier share of lending fell from 47.9 to 47.1 per cent, while the investor share climbed from 43.1 to 45.2 per cent.

Low-doc loan volumes fell from 4.7 to 3.8 per cent, while the share of borrowers with mortgage insurance fell from 23.3 to 21.3 per cent.

Mortgagees continued to take advantage of low interest rates, with the share of borrowers ahead on their repayments climbing from 71 to 73 per cent.

Chief executive Gail Kelly said 2014/2015 was likely to be another good year for mortgages.

"Housing credit growth has increased over 2014 and we expect growth at similar levels to continue through 2015, driven by strong demand and continued low interest rates," she said.

Ms Kelly also said the group's focus on customer service had helped the Australian Financial Services division achieve a 27 per cent reduction in complaints.

[Related: Westpac's FY14 half-yearly results]