Bluestone Home Loans was back in Sydney for the final leg of its broker roadshow.
On Wednesday, the non-bank lender closed out the national tour at its home offices in Sydney, revealing some key plans.
Its team emphasised that interest in specialty lending - such as loans by way of alternative income verification, or alt docs, near prime lending and self-managed super fund (SMSF) loans - continues to grow, with a handful of brokers at each stop expressing a desire to learn more about non-standard lending to help scale and expand their client bases. There are also plans to launch commercial lending and construction loan products in coming months.
"In the next six months, we're talking about commercial [lending]," Bluestone chief commercial officer Tony MacRae, told Australian Broker. "Bluestone has a real goal to be the preferred partner for brokers in the third-party space. That means we need to be able to provide an extensive range of products. Today we have a couple of clear gaps in that space. So we're working hard to fill those gaps, particularly in the space of the small commercial and alt doc construction so that we can help brokers with the majority of their customers' needs day in and day out, and not force them to look at alternatives."
Bluestone’s head of non-standard lending Aaron Taylor added: "Non-standard lending is not about the loan right now. It's about what's here and what's next. It's about, how am I going to help this customer on the journey for the next 30 years with this mortgage? It's, how can I look at the same customer that a bank does, but differently?
"And there's a growing need for brokers to better diversify their product range and make sure they're relevant in the customers' [financial] life cycle," Taylor continued. "You can't just be a transaction broker anymore. You need to be able to bring a full suite service offering."
Throughout six action-packed weeks, members of Bluestone's leadership team travelled the country, making stops in Adelaide, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Perth, before heading back to Sydney. Along the way, Bluestone's leadership team shared business updates, strategic insights and industry tips, while giving brokers and BDMs the chance to network and stay ahead of Australia's fast-moving loan and property markets.
"These roadshows are really important to us, because it's an opportunity for us to share thoughts and to share how brokers can grow their businesses," said MacRae.
Brokers, BDMs, lenders, product specialists, growth experts and aspiring entrants were among those who gathered at roadshow stops to swap insights on everything from understanding borrower needs and growing a business, to staying curious, to building lasting relationships and standing out in Australia’s increasingly competitive broker landscape.
Industry players, including brokers, also had the opportunity to share direct feedback with members of Bluestone's executive team, which MacRae described as "absolutely wonderful."
"Because at the end of the day, if we're not improving, if we're not taking that feedback on board and listening to what brokers are doing and acting on that, then we can't better ourselves," he explained. "And if we're not bettering ourselves, then we're probably going backwards."
Taylor added: "Going around the country, brokers love to meet in person and hear from each other to find different ways they can do things. To see if they can figure out different ways to attack the same questions. And those are: how do I stay active and alive in this market? Banks are trying to pull back market share. Other brokers are in their area. So what makes them relevant? And what's going to make them stand out to their customers? Are their customers they haven't thought of yet? That's what in-person events are all about.
"These roadshow events aren't really so much about providing the technical knowledge, or the ins and outs of writing the loan in the system, and what you need to do to submit it," Taylor explained. "Brokers are looking, more so, for those soft skills: the experience of other brokers, knowledge from people who have been in the industry a little bit longer, or who deal with these products more."
During the Sydney leg of the tour, Taylor and Richard Chesworth, Bluestone's head of specialized distribution, led a panel on "Growth through customer needs - non-standard lending," while MacRae teamed up with special guest Ruan Burger, founder of award-winning coaching firm Success & Broker, for a session on "Business growth strategies in a competitive & crowded market."
Burger, who was posting on LinkedIn throughout the roadshow, remarked about the "incredible energy" at each location.
"One thing that stood out loud and clear: heart is at the center of it all," he said. "From conversations with brokers to the incredible curiosity and commitment of the Bluestone team, I’m reminded that the true power of what we do lies in connection. Our ability to support clients, strengthen relationships and create legacy doesn’t happen by accident; it happens through intention."
Meanwhile, despite soaring property prices, Australia's housing shortage, steep construction costs and global jitters stirred by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Bluestone is busier than ever.
In March, Bluestone - which turned 25 earlier this year - broke its record for the most loan applications ever received in the company's history. That same month, the firm said its alt doc loan volume surged 260% in 2024 - an increase of 39-fold since 2019.
And that's just the beginning. MacRae said Bluestone's volumes have doubled, year-over-year, while loan volumes have quadrupled in the last two years. The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) rate reductions — two so far this year — have undoubtedly helped.
"Any rate reduction is actually a play on confidence," MacRae said. "And we're seeing that momentum start to come back into the market. It's not in full steam yet. But I think further rate cuts - and the prospect of further rate cuts - it's lifting confidence. Any downward direction in interest rates just makes people feel like they're in a better position. It improves their borrowing capacity, which means they can have a better chance of fulfilling that homeownership dream. So people are starting to get back out there and want to look at their options.
"March was a record month, but I'm delighted to say that May superseded that both from an applications and a settled loans perspective," he continued. "And these roadshows are an opportunity for us to say ‘thank you’. We've seen tremendous growth in our numbers. And that only comes because brokers are willing to back us. Bluestone's best is still to come."
