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Jessica Darnbrough
Mortgage sales increased by 12.4 per cent in November, despite the RBA lifting the official cash rate 25 basis points.
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According to AFG’s latest Mortgage Index, Australia’s mortgage market proved surprisingly resilient in November, with the company arranging $2.51 billion in home loans in November compared to $2.23 billion the month before.
On a national basis, this was the company’s strongest November since 2007.
Across Australia, mortgage sales in November grew by 25.7 per cent in WA, 12.1 per cent in NSW, 8.1 per cent in Victoria, 6.5 per cent in SA and 5.6 per cent in QLD.
AFG general manager of sales and operations Mark Hewitt said the increased volumes did not come as a complete surprise given that November is traditionally a strong month for mortgage sales.
“This year we didn’t see the usual spring uplift in the preceding months, and it’s possible that many buyers were sitting on their hands, waiting for greater certainty about the economy in general, and out of cycle rate rises in particular. Now that we’ve had the rate rise, more buyers seem to be coming off the fence,” Mr Hewitt said.
The Index also found that refinancing increased only slightly last month, from 37.8 per cent to 38.5 per cent of all mortgages arranged by the company.
