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Many brokers remain confident that diversification strategies will help cushion the impact of a potential residential property downturn.
John Edwards, chief executive of Residex, said the current slowdown in property markets could become a “one-in-a-hundred year slump”, but not all analysts are as pessimistic.
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Cameron Kusher, a research analyst with RP Data, said he did not expect a major drop in national house prices.
“I think we’ll see a sluggish market at least until the end of the year or until rates come down, but I don’t think we’ll see any major crash in national house prices,” he said.
“In the long term, property will always be a stable investment.”
Chris Burns, group managing director of South Australian-based brokerage Money Advisers, was less optimistic, pointing to the significant drop in home loan volumes.
“I’m definitely concerned about the state of the property market,” he said, adding that while the $1 million plus bracket remained strong, the $250,000-300,000 segment had slowed significantly.
But Mr Burns said he was confident any slowdown in residential markets would not impact brokers with a diversified product offering.
“Residential mortgage brokers still have a strong future ahead of them; they just need to turn the switch a little and become providers of wider financial service solutions,” he said.
Maroubra-based Auspak broker Mark Melick said brokers who did not diversify would struggle.
“Gone are the days of just writing home loans,” said Mr Melick, whose product offering includes income protection insurance and commercial loans as well as a referral arrangement with a financial planner.
“There is still a future in residential loans but brokers must recognise the lending landscape is changing – and will continue to change.”
