Demand in Australia’s property and loan markets is surging, defying the traditional pre-Christmas lull. And all without any new interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
At Sydney-based non-bank lender FinStreet, Co-founder and Managing Director Darren Liu said the momentum started in October. But it wasn't until the last week of November that things really started to ramp up.
"In one week, we probably received 20 million applications for easy re-fi," Liu told Australian Broker. "The deal is flooded right now.
"We have a deadline for approvals by the 31st of December," continued Liu, referring to FinStreet's Easy Refinance package for prime, expat, self-managed super funds and non-residential loans. "We're all working day and night, and even our days off. And we're allocating all of our resources from other departments, like customer care and different divisions, to help with the load and ensure we finish in time. But our staff doesn't have time to process all the applications. We did an assessment last week, and we realized we can't do it all; we have reached our capacity. We can honor some deals, but we have to manage the applications we have. We have to slow down the applications."
FinStreet plans to hold off new applicants until 2026.
Liu noted that the applicant response was remarkably high, even against the backdrop of Australia’s expanding non-bank sector.
"I can't remember how many applications we got last year, but this many deals in one week is unusual for us," Liu said.
"I guess we'll be very busy next year," he added.
Australia's non-bank sector has been booming in recent years as traditional banks tighten lending requirements, leaving a growing number of borrowers, both individuals and companies, in need of alternative funding. While the RBA estimates that non-banks share of Australia's total financial markets represents just 6%, industry players like FinStreet say the actual numbers are closer to 40% — and poised to continue climbing further.
Liu attributes much of the recent demand to borrowers already grappling with higher borrowing costs.
"They want to secure a better rate," he explained. "And probably it relates to interest rates. People aren't expecting another rate cut. So they have to find a lender with lower rates and get it done. So there's lots of pressure to wait, uncertainty from the market, uncertainty where the banks may not be able to do their deals anymore. So they move quickly."
The RBA cut interest rates three times in 2025, most recently in August, fueling momentum in Australia's loan and property markets. But the nation's central bank held rates steady at 3.6% during the last three meetings on monetary policy, citing persistent inflation as the primary driver.
Still, borrowers have been eager to tap into the market — or refinance — either for fear of missing out, or a desire to secure better rates.
And it's not just lenders who are feeling the momentum.
"I am as busy as I've ever been. I'm seeing an absolute flurry of activity; it's been enormous," said Adele Andrews, director and mortgage and finance broker at Melbourne-based Australian Property Home Loans. "The last couple of weeks have been crazy; I don't know whether it is because of the lead-up to Christmas, people wanting to get themselves into the market, or getting themselves sorted before Christmas. Or whether they're concerned about property prices going up in 2026.
"People are looking at refinancing options [as well]," she added.
"I think there's also a little bit of acceptance that rates aren't going to come down again for a little while. So what we've got is what we've got," Andrews said. "So there's quite a lot of FOMO in the market."
