Housing finance up 15pc – but will it continue?

Housing finance increased steadily by another 1.3 per cent in September – taking growth since May to 15 per cent.

Already, market commentators are predicting that Sydney and Melbourne will hit record highs in April 2020.  But where will the finance come from?

This month the increase was driven by homebuyers, while investor lending dropped back.

Owner-occupier lending hit a 14-month high in September at $14.2 billion.  Yet, if this growth period is to be maintained, Accredited Broker believes that many of the non-conforming lenders will have to step up to the plate.

Many, offer rates that can compete with regular banks, such as

Mortgage Mart 2.90 per cent

Pepper 3.12 per cent

Liberty 3.34 per cent

And yet, non-banks only issue around$4 billion of loans per quarter.

Recent Reserve Bank research shows that smaller lenders now able to compete against the Big Four and that competition has driven down mortgage rates.  But the non-conforming lenders will have to keep the top on if the property market is to maintain its strength.