Australian non-major lenders have significantly increased their share of the first home buyer and refinancing markets according to a recent report conducted by mortgage broker AFG.

 

AFG’s Competition Index found that non-major lenders had expanded their market share from between 22 per cent to 29 per cent of the first home buyer market.

 

According to the report, Suncorp emerged with the biggest increase, from 10.1 per cent to 14.8 per cent over a period of a year.

 

This figure is well above the market share of three of the 'Big Four' banking brands for April 2012 - 8.9% (ANZ), 8.0% (Westpac) and 1.5% (NAB). This approach is likely to have placed pressure on the risk profile of their book and it has been noticeable of late that Suncorp have taken steps to address this by focusing heavily on their offer for sub 80% LVR lending.

 

CBA, consistently strong in the first home buyers market, had a 22.9% market share last month. ING is another non major lender strong in the first home buyers market with a market share in April of 4.5%.

 

“First home buyers are a very important part of the overall market, both because they create momentum up the property chain and also because their attitudes signal future trends. Today's generation of first home buyers are very willing to look outside the majors for their mortgage needs. This is good news for competition going forward,” Mark Hewitt, General Manager of Sales and Operations at AFG said.

 

The full report can be found here (PDF)