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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Australia’s lenders are preparing for greater borrower exits, after new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the number of refinancers continues to climb month on month.
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According to the March results, there were 17,756 refinanced home loans – the biggest number of refinanced home loans in one month since April 2008.
In addition, there was a 19 per cent increase in refinanced home loans for the 12 months to March 2012 compared to the previous 12 months.
RateCity spokesperson Michelle Hutchison said the number of borrowers who switch lenders is likely to increase.
“While there’s still a lot of work to do to make switching easier, it’s clear that Australian borrowers are far more comfortable switching their home loan than ever before, and the ban on exit fees for new variable rate loans since July 1, 2011 must be playing a part,” she said.
“We believe we’re only beginning to see the very start of the impact of these changes and it’s likely that more borrowers will switch lenders more often than in the past.”
On a state by state level, NSW borrowers were the most active switchers in March, with 41 per cent out of all loans financed ditching their lenders for better deals. Victoria followed with 38 per cent of all home loans financed in the state from switching.
