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FBAA teams up with new broker resource The Finance Brokers Association of Australia has partnered with Brokerpedia, a new online resource that provides brokers with up-todate lender policies, in an attempt to help its members write more loans. “Gaining timely access to accurate lender policies and other information is a key frustration for brokers,” FBAA president Peter White said. “This information is critical for brokers to effectively provide clients with the best finance and mortgage options.” He describes Brokerpedia as an intuitive search engine that enables brokers to pinpoint specific and up-to-date lender information. “Until now it has been difficult and time-consuming to access [lender policies], but Brokerpedia is set to change this,” White said. “I have no doubt that it will be an invaluable resource which will enable brokers to work more efficiently and provide clients with the very best service.” While the service is available to FBAA members free of charge, non-members can register for the resource for a monthly fee. Brokerpedia aims to help brokers when they are unable to reach a BDM for clarification on lender policy – a scenario that brokers are all-too-familiar with. For example, if a broker is with a client and wants to know something as specific as whether Westpac will accept a serviced apartment and if so, at what LVR, then all they need to do is type in ‘Westpac serviced apartment LVR’ into the text box and press enter. Brokerpedia promises to deliver the relevant information in seconds. “We’ve been testing the site with brokers from Connective (aggregator), and a common theme from the feedback we’ve received is that Brokerpedia assists to write more loans simply by reducing the opportunity for clients to ‘shop
Peter White
around’,” said FBAA Brokerpedia representative, Andrew Chinn. “When a broker is waiting for a BDM to return a call with clarification on unknown criteria of a loan, it gives the client an opportunity to leave and try elsewhere,” he added. Chinn said that opportunities to service borrowers with more complex loan requirements are also supported by Brokerpedia, as the site enables brokers to better understand the full scope of a client’s loan options. “With all the lender policies at the broker’s fingertips, opportunities are now available for many clients who may have otherwise been turned away as there were no obvious loan products suitable for them,” he said. “Similarly, brokers have also been able to identify better solutions for clients and upgrade them, for example, from a low-doc solution to a prime mortgage with better rates and terms.” Brokerpedia has been developed over the past five years and the site has evolved from being a website containing accurate policy information to become an up-todate resource on lender criteria. It is equipped with auxiliary tools and information such as loan calculators, and all forms for the various lenders are housed and can be downloaded.
Soaring land prices underpin home loan growth The cost of residential land continues to rise, with a new report showing the median price of raw land has increased by 2.2% to a record $185,222. The HIA-RPdata.com Residential Land Report shows the weighted median land price for Australia is growing at an annual rate of 14% at the end of 2009, the fastest pace since mid-2004. Meanwhile, the volume of land sales fell substantially in original terms, down by 4.6% in the December 2009 quarter compared to a year earlier. HIA chief economist, Harley Dale, said that over the year to December 2009, new house prices (excluding land) grew by 2.8%; building materials prices increased by 1%; labour rates fell marginally – yet median land prices jumped by 14%. “Throughout the last housing up-cycle, land values consistently grew at a substantially faster pace than construction costs and the general rate of inflation. Only six months into a new home building recovery, this situation is happening all over again,” he said. Sydney remains the most expensive residential land market in the nation with a median price of $275,000. Outside the capital
cities, the Sunshine Coast in Queensland is the most expensive land market (median price of $249,000), followed by the Gold Coast ($241,000), the RichmondTweed ($235,000) and Illawarra ($197,500) regions in NSW. According to rpdata.com national research director Tim Lawless, the recent fall in land sales volumes is likely to set off a few alarm bells. “With Australia’s population growing at a rapid rate and housing undersupply worsening, we should be seeing land releases and consequent sales volumes rising, not falling,” he said. “The shortfall in available land is already being seen in higher land prices.”
Harley Dale