HomeStart has been working with more than 800 mortgage brokers to help more South Australians into homeownership sooner, with a record number wanting to work with the state government-backed lender.
“As the economy tightens, interest rates rise, and with the record growth in house prices over the past two years, more brokers are supporting South Australians to enter the housing market by partnering with HomeStart,” said HomeStart CEO Andrew Mills (pictured above). “HomeStart works with brokers to make the home buying process as seamless as possible, and our brokers and the home buyers they’re supporting have never been happier. Over the past year, our broker satisfaction levels rose to 92%, which reflects how positive our partnerships are.”
In the 2021-22 financial year, 66% of the new loans issued by HomeStart have been settled by brokers.
Mills said the company has made significant improvements to its products and services over the past year, including:
- the shared equity option that allowed customers to borrow up to 25% more, without having to make repayments or interest payments on the additional amount
- changes to loan calculations that improved buying power or made repayments more affordable
- the launch of the 2% deposit Graduate Loan with no LMI for people with a Certificate III or higher qualification
- making land settlement available prior to council approval through one of HomeStart’s partner builders
- expansion of HomeStart’s reverse mortgage, the Senior Equity Loan, by increasing LVRs to enable 50 to 80-year-olds to access 20% – 40% of the equity in their home
- increasing HomeStart’s maximum loan amount to $950,00
- strengthening HomeStart’s broker accreditation program
“The turnaround with HomeStart is generally around four to five days, even to turn around a loan in a week is appreciated – they’re reliable and trustworthy and you can count on them,” said Ben Gregory, a mortgage broker from Protego Finance. “My clients are unique and lending and borrowing money is getting difficult. To have that capacity to open a dialogue about how we can help them get into a home is brilliant.”
Gregory said the broker support staff simplify the process – they are familiar with local builders as well as the payment systems.
