AFG bucks national trend with record October mortgage sales

Mortgage broker AFG, which accounts for around one in 10 home loans arranged in Australia, bucked the national trend to record its biggest October on record with $3.1 billion in sales.

October volumes are generally lower than those for September, but AFG says October mortgage sales were 14.6% higher than the month before.

The volume was also almost a quarter greater than that for October 2011.

RBA figures have housing credit growth at record lows in September - one month behind AFG figures.

AFG says refinancing was not the driver for mortgage volumes last month, with the level of refinancing (34.8%) at its lowest level than since September 2009.

Mark Hewitt, general manager of sales and operations at AFG, says: ‘We’re not seeing a surge of confidence sweep across the country, but different categories of borrowers in different states are feeling more comfortable about taking on loans. New South Wales is by far the most popular state for investors, while WA is leading the way for first-home buyers.’

In New South Wales, loans for investors comprised 43.1% of all new loans, compared with 35.1% in Queensland, 33.6% in Victoria, 32.2% in South Australia and 29.9% in Western Australia.

In Western Australia, loans for first home buyers comprised 25.2% of all new loans, compared with 18.3% in Victoria. 15.0% in Queensland, 12.8% in South Australia and 5.7% in New South Wales.

One in five new borrowers chose to fix their loans (20.8%), somewhat lower than last month high of 21.5%.