1 IN 2 NSW HOME LOANS FOR INVESTORS: AFG MORTGAGE INDEX
49.5% of all home loans processed in NSW last month were for investors, according to AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker. This is the highest level of investor activity the company has ever recorded for any state.
Investor participation across the nation was generally high. Investors comprised 36.7% of new home loans processed in VIC, 35.8% in QLD, 32.9% in SA and 28.4% in WA.
August was a bumper month for AFG, which processed $3,613 million in finance – slightly more than the record-breaking figure of $3,608 million recorded in May this year. AFG has 10% of the total home loan market (Source: ABS and AFG data) and overall trends it reports are usually confirmed by ABS statistics six weeks later.
Mark Hewitt, General Manager of Sales and Operations says: ‘With property prices starting to rise, and rates set to remain low for a while yet, a lot of investors are anticipating the next property cycle. The NSW figure is very strong, but in part this is because two thirds of first home buyers exited the market after the withdrawal of buyers’ grants. A decisive result from next
weekend’s election will almost certainly support the return of broader-based confidence across the country.’
Along with unprecedented levels of investor interest, NSW saw the average mortgage size break through the $500k barrier for the first time ($505k).
This figure compares with average new home loans of $434k in NT, $405k in WA, $386k in VIC, $352k in QLD and $319k in SA.
Enthusiasm for fixed home loans fell for the fourth month in a row – they comprised 26.1% of all new home loans. While below the 30.7% high water mark of April this year, this figure is still relatively high, suggesting that many borrowers are locking in part or all of their loans in anticipation of the rate cycle turning.
