While economic predictions remain bleak for the broader economy, the outlook for brokers is a strong one in 2014, says
MFAA CEO Phil Naylor.
In a speech on his predictions for 2014 Naylor referred to Treasurer Joe Hockey’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook in late 2013, which revealed a $17bn budget blow-out and the need for fiscal reform.
“We’ve heard some pretty damning words from the treasurer about how he sees the economy going over the next year, and there are some pretty grey clouds,” said Naylor, “but there’s some pretty good silver lining in those clouds.”
While Naylor acknowledged rising unemployment as an issue, continued low interest rates and the possibility of these falling even further is good news for the industry, he said.
“That environment, although from a general economy point of view is not crash-hot, it is a good environment for the value proposition of a credit adviser to be operating.
Naylor says he expects broker market share to increase in the coming year, above and beyond the roughly 46% currently held by brokers.
“We think more and more people will start looking for the assistance of a credit adviser as they move into new housing or come into the housing market,” said Naylor.
While Naylor predicts the first home buyer sector to remain “fairly flat” in 2014, plenty of opportunities exist for brokers in the growing investor space, he says.
