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Jessica Darnbrough
One of Australia’s aggregators has achieved a new processing record, with the company processing more than $3.6 billion in mortgages.
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According to AFG’s latest Mortgage Index, the aggregator managed to grow its processing volumes by 13 per cent over the month of May.
Speaking about the results, AFG’s general manager for sales and operations, Mark Hewitt, said demand for mortgages rose most strongly in WA, where mortgages processed increased by 17.7 per cent over April, followed by Victoria, which saw a 14.6 per cent uplift.
NSW also managed to achieve 10.9 per cent growth, while South Australia saw an 8.6 per cent lift.
Demand rose consistently across all buyer types – first home buyers, investors and borrowers looking to refinance.
Compared with May 2012, however, there was a larger share of upgraders, who comprised 15.9 per cent of all mortgage sales last month compared with 11.3 per cent in May 2012.
“We’ve seen a marked increase in borrowing activity since February. Borrowers of all types were encouraged by the further rate reduction in early May and the expectation that we’re in a low rate environment for some time to come. Reassuringly, the recent growth looks sustainable and we are not seeing the normal characteristics of a boom,” Mr Hewitt said.
“The average new loan size is the same as it was over a year ago, LVRs are consistent, and in New South Wales and Queensland, first home buying activity is running at about a third of the long-term average.”
Demand for fixed rate loans fell slightly from an all-time high in April, comprising 28.5 per cent of all new mortgages, compared to 30.7 per cent the month before.
Non-major lenders gained some market share during the month, especially among borrowers seeking refinance, where they comprised 27.1 per cent of the market – up from 25.4 per cent the month before.
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