Login
ISCOVER
AFG brokers wrote the second-highest mortgage lodgements on record, with mortgage volumes in Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland reaching new highs in 1Q25.
ASX-listed aggregator Australian Finance Group (AFG) has revealed that broker lodgements have continued to rise, with AFG brokers lodging $24.1 billion of home loans over the first quarter of the 2025 financial year (1Q25).
This is the highest Q1 figure on record for the group and the second-highest quarter after the record $24.6 billion lodged in 2Q22.
According to the group’s latest Mortgage Index, which covers AFG broker activity for the three months to September, there were a total of 37,202 mortgages written over the quarter, with the average loan size coming in at $650,060 across the nation – a new record.
Lodgements in Western Australia, Queensland, and South Australia hit a new record high over the September quarter of 2024.
Indeed, Western Australian lodgements surpassed the $3 billion threshold for the first time, with AFG lodgements totalling $3.01 billion in the September quarter.
The average mortgage size also hit a new record high in Western Australia, coming in at $556,159 in the first quarter of the new financial year – a 16 per cent rise on 1Q24.
The record volumes come as the western state continues to see house prices rise dramatically. According to CoreLogic, Perth home values rose by 24.1 per cent in the 12 months to September, driven by sustained demand and limited supply, and have grown 74.6 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
Similarly, both South Australia and Queensland also saw new lodgement records set by AFG brokers, with the southern state recording more than $1.50 billion in lodgements in the quarter for the first time ($1.60 billion) and more than $4.70 billion in Queensland – nearly a billion dollars more than the same period the year prior (when it was $3.77 billion).
AFG CEO David Bailey said: “The continued momentum shows home buyers are becoming increasingly confident cash rates are at their peak. This quarter’s results are the highest Q1 on record and as we head into the spring selling season, we expect our brokers will again be seeing a lift in demand as borrowers look to secure competitive finance, so they are ready to make their move in a tight housing market.”
NSW and Victoria both also saw loan volumes go up over the quarter – reaching just over $7.85 billion and $6.99 billion, respectively; however, the pace of growth in Victoria has slowed markedly – with AFG brokers lodging less than 1 per cent more than 4Q24, as the market there cools.
The average loan size in Victoria dropped over the quarter from $637,445 to $635,207.
CoreLogic recently said that in Melbourne and regional Victoria, dwelling values dropped by 1 per cent over the year.
Speaking last month, CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said: “An unfavourable investment taxation environment, a higher level of new housing completions, and an above average level of advertised supply have put downwards pressure on values, resulting in fewer new million-dollar entrants in Melbourne and a net decline across regional Victoria.”
[Related: Housing market ‘diversity’ widening, flags CoreLogic]
JOIN THE DISCUSSION