Despite the recent handing down of the Hayne royal commission report, broker market share of Australian home loans has reached a record high.
According to data released by CoreLogic’s Comparator business, brokers settled almost 60 per cent of all residential home loans in the July-to-September quarter.
That figure is significantly up from the 53.6 per cent recorded over the same quarter last year.
On the flipside, broker-originated loan settlements fell by 3 per cent year-on-year in the quarter ending on 30 September and that was amid an overall market decline of 8.5 per cent over the same period.
Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia’s CEO Mike Felton spoke about the data to The Adviser.
“This result has occurred during a period of severe credit tightening with brokers stepping in to provide critical assistance in the redistribution of credit demand for those seeking home lending,” he said.
“As banks have persisted in making it more difficult to secure a loan, turning many would-be borrowers away, consumers have continued to increasingly utilise the broker channel for experience, expertise and greater market choice to secure access to credit.”
“In addition to providing customers access to a panel of 34 lenders on average, brokers are ideally positioned to help customers, especially those with more complex lending scenarios, to understand the ever-evolving application process and provide the information necessary to meet changing lending requirements.”
Mr Felton told The Adviser brokers were important to consumers, offering them choice.
“Mortgage brokers continue to offer choice to consumers and ensure credit continues to flow, which is of systemic importance to the housing market and a strong economy.”
