The mortgage broking sector continues to expand, with the latest Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) Industry Intelligence Service (IIS) report confirming new records in loan volumes, broker numbers, and market share.
Covering the six months to Sept. 30, 2024, the IIS 19th edition revealed Australians are increasingly turning to brokers for expert financial guidance, especially as the sector diversifies into commercial lending.
“Borrowers know brokers have the skills to find the right financial solutions for them and increasingly we can see that extends to commercial loans,” said MFAA CEO Anja Pannek (pictured).
The broker channel remains dominant in the residential mortgage space, with brokers settling 74.6% of all new home loans during the April-September 2024 period – the highest share recorded at that point.
That figure has since grown to 76.8%, based on March 2025 data.
Brokers also achieved a record $203.8 billion in residential home loan settlements for the six-month period, marking a 16.25% year-on-year increase. Over the 12 months to September 2024, total settlements reached $378.87 billion, up 8.06% annually.
Mortgage brokers are rapidly expanding into commercial lending. The number of brokers writing commercial loans jumped 24.21% year-on-year to 7,023, with 31.54% of brokers active in commercial lending in the six-month period – up from 30.66% previously.
“We welcome the fact that more mortgage brokers are diversifying their services by writing commercial loans, as this can only contribute to their business growth,” Pannek said. “It also enhances competition and choice, providing SME clients with a greater range of options.”
The value of commercial loans settled hit a new record of $22.68 billion, up 31.2% year-on-year, with every state recording increases – South Australia leading with a 13.64% rise in broker participation.
As of September 2024, the number of mortgage brokers had risen to 22,265, a 12% increase year-on-year and the highest on record.
The number of female brokers grew 5.61% year-on-year to 3,746, lifting their industry share slightly to 26.8%. However, this was a slight drop from the previous six-month period.
Pannek said the growth in female representation was encouraging but added that “further work was needed to see these numbers lift.”
To help address this, MFAA recently revealed the 10 successful applicants for its She Means Business pilot program – a new federal government–backed initiative developed with the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA).
Home loan applications lodged rose 9.88% period-on-period and 7.7% year-on-year. Active brokers lodged an average of 19.1 applications, up from 17.6, though still below the 20.1 average a year earlier.
The conversion rate declined slightly for the fourth consecutive period, dropping 0.2 percentage points to 76.1%.
The major banks’ share of broker-originated lending dropped below 40%, falling to 39.9% in the July-September 2024 quarter – down from 41.3% previously.
With eight years of data collected in partnership with Comparator by Cotality (formerly CoreLogic), MFAA is reviewing the IIS report format to better serve industry needs. The association noted that readers may see some changes, first introduced in the 18th and 19th editions.
You can access the full MFAA IIS 19th Edition report here.
