AFG mortgage sales up 17% in June year-on-year amid “patchy” market
AFG recorded a 17% rise in mortgage sales in June compared to the same month last year.
Australia’s largest mortgage broker sold 7,575 home loans worth $3.08 billion through its network of loan writers in June, well down on the 8,921 home loans sold worth $3.6 billion in May – a fall of 15%, some of which would be attributed to seasonality.
However, sales are well up on June last year when AFG managed 6,691 sales worth $2.3 billion.
Leading the pack was WA, with mortgage sales up 30% followed by Victoria (25.8%) and NSW (19.9%). But Queensland mortgage sales for June were 2.7% lower than in June 2012, and South Australia figures were 10.3% lower.
The patchiness is also reflected in average loan sizes.
Last month these were $494,000 in NSW, $408,000 in WA, $388,000 in Victoria, $344,000 in Queensland and $322,000 in South Australia.
First-home buyers remain on the sidelines comprising just 12.8% of the market compared with 15.6% in June 2012.
Home loans to property investors rose from 36.5% to 37.9% and to refinanciers from 34% to 36.6%.
Standard variable home loans (57.2%) are the most popular product followed by fixed-rate home loans (27.4%).
“The mortgage market is continuing to become more and more complex,” says Mark Hewitt, general manager of sales and operations at AFG.“We are seeing patchiness across the states as WA and NSW in particular grow strongly, while Queensland and South Australia are still soft.
“First home buyers are particularly active in WA, but hardly feature in Queensland and NSW since grants [for existing homes] were cut.
“Political uncertainly, concerns about China and the economy in general are giving buyers a lot to think about.
“That said, 95% of people are employed and rates are at their lowest in 30 years. We’re hoping that a gradual return of confidence over the next financial year will see a broader based recovery take place."
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