New Hashching survey shows the race is on to lock in fixed term interest rates

A new survey of mortgage brokers from Australia’s leading mortgage broker platform Hashching has revealed more than 8 in 10 Australians are looking to lock in fixed term interest rates than this time last year.  

July’s national survey of brokers has revealed 84% of respondents said more customers were looking to have fixed term interest rates than this time in 2020.  

While more than 7 in 10 brokers (71%) have a more favourable outlook on the Australian housing market than this time last year, nearly 4 in 10 brokers (38%) have seen a drop in activity since the state-wide lockdowns began. Additionally 37% of brokers have seen fewer deals and report more sluggish conditions because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.  

“Brokers are a great sounding board for consumer sentiment of general economic conditions,” said Hashching CEO Arun Maharaj. 

“What we’re seeing is that consumers a looking for certainty in a time of great uncertainty – and that’s why there have been more enquiries about locking in fixed term rates. It’s one area of the home loan process that consumers can control and they’re happy to pay the price for that.” 

Other findings in this month’s broker survey include: more than 50% of brokers being in favour of scrapping stamp duty on residential properties and 87% of respondents saying mortgage brokers were more important than ever – given the increased competition from non bank and alternative lenders. 

Maharaj concluded, “While most Australians believe in the underlying strength of the Australian housing market, the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19 is creating unease and uncertainty in the market – to the extent that sentiment might be changing, and consumers are taking the opportunity to lock in the historic low rates now on offer across the board.”