Brokers’ business booming in WA

A new study has found that Western Australians are increasingly buying their mortgages through brokers rather than through traditional lenders.

In a study undertaken by the Australian Finance Group released last week, seven out of 10 brokers surveyed said a third of customers were using brokers to source their mortgages.

AFG said its transaction levels had grown 40 per cent in the past year, with the number of WA mortgages sold in October this year (1,041) 39 per cent higher than in October last year.

The $281 million worth of mortgages sold was also 60 per cent higher than the same period last year, and the average mortgage size increased from $223,000 to $270,000.

Perth-based AFG is the country’s largest mortgage broker and also holds 9.5 per cent of the WA market.

Executive director Malcolm Watkins said the company had been reporting for some time that things were going “gang busters” for the WA mortgage market.

“We are also seeing an interesting shift in consumer behaviour away from the traditional lenders and towards brokers,” Mr Watkins said.

“While people are happy with the product mix offered by mainstream lenders, they’d rather source their mortgage through a broker because it’s more convenient, there’s a wider choice, and brokers aren’t tied to a single lender’s products.”

AFG figures for Queensland and New South Wales show upswings around the 10 per cent mark. Victoria occupies the middle ground, around 20 per cent, while WA and South Australia are booming, with mortgage sales and volumes having increased by approximately 40 per cent in the past 12 months.

AFG is the largest third party wholesaler introducer of mortgages in Australia processing more than 5,000 residential mortgages exceeding $1.6 billion per month with market share in excess of 20 per cent of the Australian broker market.

Established in 1994, AFG recently announced that it manages more than $22 billion of mortgage finance.