Australia's mortgage brokers expect house prices to rise: Hashching survey

A new survey of mortgage brokers from Australia’s leading mortgage broker platform Hashching has revealed that almost 60% (58%) of respondents agree with NAB’s prediction that house prices will exceed 20% growth by the end of the calendar year.

Despite this high growth in prices, the First Home Buyer group seems unwilling to compromise on the Australian dream – with mortgage brokers overwhelmingly reporting that the FHBs they see are more interested in buying freestanding houses (67.44%) than apartments (16.28%).

When questioned on their use of technology through events such as the enduring lockdowns in VIC and NSW, most brokers are now making good use of technology, with 67.44% of brokers making time for more appointments through video conferencing.

Hashching CEO Arun Maharaj said, “This month, we also checked in on how brokers are feeling about the profession’s future as a whole – just under half were not concerned at all (46.51%), with the remaining 48% concerned about the impact of direct competition from banks and changing consumer behaviour.

“A dead-even split, even during one of the toughest environments to operate in living memory, shows just how powerful a drive technology has been in keeping the profession moving. Brokers simply have more time for appointments now, or at the very least are keeping even with previous years.”

Maharaj concluded, “ Brokers have cause for optimism. They are becoming more efficient, and the demand for housing just isn’t going away – the major banks are predicting growth and they’re seeing this demand in their daily lives, especially for freestanding houses. With no word from APRA on lending restrictions and a consistently low cash rate from the RBA promised for the future, the next few months might be the best brokers will have this year especially if lockdown restrictions are eased.”