Home buyers in Australia have been refinancing their loans at the fastest pace in four years, with many taking advantage of better deals, according to recent data.
March saw the biggest number of home loan refinancing deals since 2008, with 17,756 renegotiated contracts. Product comparison group RateCity said that nearly 40 percent were borrowers who switched to other lenders.
“We believe we’re only beginning to see the very start of the impact of these changes and it’s likely more borrowers will switch lenders more often than in the past,” said Michelle Hutchison, a spokeswoman from RateCity.
In the year to March, the number of refinanced mortgages surged 19 percent compared to the previous year. Victoria accounted for 38 percent of refinanced mortgages, just behind New South Wales at 41 percent.
Meanwhile, mortgage broker Australian Finance Group said other lenders aside from the major banks are getting a bigger slice of market share, particularly among first-timers and the refinancing market.
Smaller lenders have had close to a 30 percent share of the first-time home buyers’ market in recent months, up from 22 percent last year.
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