Retirement units have become a more affordable option for older Australians amidst the affordability crisis gripping Australia, a new study has revealed.

The 2022 PwC/Property Council Retirement Census found a widening affordability gap between retirement units and the traditional real estate market, with the average cost of a two-bedroom independent living unit (ILU) in a retirement village growing by just 6.6% over the 18 months to December 2022 to $516,000, compared to the 26% jump in national house prices over the same period to $831,900.

Daniel Gannon (pictured above), executive director of the Retirement Living Council, said the latest figures showed the crucial role of retirement villages in providing affordable housing options for older Australians, who were often hit hardest by cost-of-living pressures because of their fixed incomes.

“On average, units in retirement communities across Australia are 48% cheaper than the median house price in the same suburb,” Gannon said.

He said retirement villages should not be confused with aged care.

“Retirement Living communities offer a unique housing option that enhances wellbeing and lifespan for older Australians, and actually prevents the entry into aged care,” Gannon said.

“At a time when national housing affordability is eroding, and health care costs are also growing, the value proposition of retirement communities is strengthening – but there are some warning bells starting to sound.”

The census also revealed that the three-year development supply pipeline of retirement units was down by more than 50% to 5,100 dwellings, from the previous census forecast of 10,500. Findings also showed that national retirement village occupancy remained steady at nearly full capacity of 90%.

“The reality is, we have a market that’s pretty much full, which actually provides an affordable housing option when few other affordable options remain, and yet barriers to building more are emerging,” Gannon said.

“It’s not an unfamiliar story for this part of the housing market. Higher construction and debt costs together with general economic uncertainty has applied downward pressure on the supply pipeline.”

He urged caution to policymakers, given supply is forecast to ease and with ongoing legislative reviews expected to impact Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania.

“If governments make it harder for operators to build and operate retirement communities, the supply clamp will tighten even further – on a sector that we know offers an affordable and bespoke offering for older Australians, who simply can’t keep up with the traditional market which is becoming increasingly unaffordable to rent or buy into,” Gannon said.

From 4.4 million, the number of people aged over 65 is expected to increase to 6.6 million by 2041, presenting opportunities and risks for governments, he said.

“Australia’s population is ageing, which means our three tiers of government need to address and solve the challenges associated with housing this demographic cohort now,” Gannon said.

“If more seniors are living in age-friendly communities, there is significant economic upside for state and federal governments through reduced interaction with the health system and delayed entry to aged care.”

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A non-bank mortgage lender has delivered record lodgement numbers, nearly 18 months after its acquisition by MA Financial, an ASX-listed diversified financial services business.

Over the six months to the end of June, MA Money’s lodgements have grown by more than 500%, which according to Chris Wyke (pictured above left), joint CEO of MA Financial, “highlights the positive response to MA Money’s product offering from brokers.”

Wyke said that MA Money has undergone significant change since it was acquired 100% by MA Financial in February 2022 – “from being a niche lender to a genuine non-bank lender with a comprehensive product offering, new technology platform, and one of the best executive and support team line ups in the industry.”

Recently, Alex Brgudac (pictured above right), who according to Wyke, is “one of our industry’s most respected figures and knows how to grow a business,” joined the business as head of sales and strategic partnerships.

Brgudac said MA Money had also maintained exceptional turnaround times of 48 hours since launch.

“We have received very positive feedback from brokers on our service delivery and very competitive product range,” he said.

“While there are traditionally growing pains when building a large-scale business, MA Financial chose to invest heavily in ensuring it delivered the key considerations of consumers and brokers when choosing a lender, which has underpinned the remarkable growth.”

The non-bank has also restructured and expanded its sales team, with the appointment of Ebony Maxwell as Victorian state manager and Dayna Manser as business development manager.

“MA Money has big plans. We will soon be announcing the release of a number of new products in the coming weeks including SMSF and non-resident loans and a private funding product,” Brgudac said.

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Non-bank lender Pepper Money is set to host Insights Live 2023, an annual thought leadership event now in its eighth year.

Themed “Cutting Through the Noise”, the event aims to equip asset finance and mortgage brokers with valuable insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.

The event’s dedicated mortgage panel will set the foundations for future growth by drawing on the experience of the industry’s top movers and shakers, according to Siobhan Williams (pictured above centre), Pepper Money’s head of mortgages – retail broker.

“We’re also introducing Pepper Money World, an interactive exhibition space where you can get business done, network with industry professionals, explore partner stands, and enjoy bitesize talks on growing your business at our fireside stage,” Williams said.

Some of Pepper Money World partners who will have stalls on the day include CoreLogic, Equifax, Galilee, FMS, BYD Automotive, West Tigers NRL club and former player John Skandalis, and Pepper Money’s credit and scenarios teams among others.

With 13 speakers across two stages and four sessions, attendees can attend in-person at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney or through a nationwide livestream on July 26.

_{Picture from last year’s event.}

Unparalleled access

Pepper Money  general manager of mortgages and commercial lending Barry Saoud (pictured above right) said Insights Live 2023 would offer “unparalleled access” to industry insight and networking opportunities.

 “We know this year presents new challenges and opportunities for our industry,” Saoud said. “Attendees will hear how market shifts, and technological advancements will shape the lending and broker industry, while gaining practical strategies for building lasting customer relationships and empowering their business to thrive in dynamic conditions.”  

Saoud will lead a mortgage panel discussion on building better businesses, with panel participants to include Pepper Money’s chief information officer Steven Meek, director and senior lending specialist at LendX Amelia Pignone, co-owner of IFA Mortgages & Finance Anthony O’Flynn and head adviser at Mufti Finance, Hussain Mufti.

Arming brokers with strategies for different client cohorts

On the asset finance front, Pepper Money head of sales asset finance, Michael McEvoy (pictured above left), will host a panel of experts, delving into pivotal topics such as the rise of electric vehicles and the transformative role of technology in the asset finance sector.

“Insights Live 2023 will explore the most significant opportunities on the horizon for the asset finance industry,” McEvoy said. “This event brings together leaders at the forefront of asset finance to discuss how these opportunities will shape the future of our industry.”

Examining the emerging economic order, Pepper Money chief financial officer Therese McGrath will headline the event, presenting a market outlook that “goes beyond the news cycle” to cut through the noise” and understand what the economic outlook “really means for brokers and clients”, according to Pepper Money.

The non-bank lender said McGrath’s insights of the market will be contextualised to arm brokers with strategies for different client cohorts.

Elite athlete and high-performance coach and speaker Dan Collins will also deliver insights and strategies for holding focus despite the noise, and developing the mindset needed to maintain focus, prioritise effectively and achieve both personal and business development.

Broker Shout Out campaign

Insights Live will also recognise outstanding contributions through the Pepper Money Broker Shout Out initiative.

Held from April to June, the campaign celebrates brokers and introducers who made a real-life difference in their communities. They were nominated by peers, family members and strangers, who said they’d made a positive difference to customers and within their communities.

Lat year’s event saw eight winners announced for the Broker Shout Out campaign out of more than 40 nominations.

Pepper Money will also present special awards at the event to nominees who have made a substantial impact and valuable contributions to the industry.

“Whether you’re a seasoned mortgage broking or asset finance professional, or new to the industry, this is an event you can’t afford to miss,” Saoud said.

To register to attend or watch it live, go to: Insights Live 2023.

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A non-major bank has signalled it may be time for investors to consider interest-only loans amid rising mortgage payments.

However, two mortgage brokers cautioned others about advising clients to enter interest-only loans, emphasising the need to fully explain and consider both the risks and rewards.

Offering a host of investor-friendly product options, Auswide Bank has committed to accommodate brokers looking to assist investor clients currently struggling with cash flow.

Tracy Field (pictured above centre), head of third party at Auswide Bank, encouraged brokers to offset rising interest rates and identify investment lending opportunities that meet the bank’s campaign criteria, offering potential interest rate discounts.

“Clients who bring owner occupied lending and investment lending to Auswide Bank at the same time are eligible to receive a bonus discount off their investment interest rate of up to .20%,” Field said.

“Provide some certainty in the mortgage cost of the investment loan for your clients. Consider giving your clients the ability to limit any shortfall in their cashflow with a fixed rate product, particularly where there is no rate differentiation between principal and interest (P&I) and IO repayments.”

However, while interest rate discounts were “a big factor”, they were not the sole factor, said Sam Giardina (pictured above left), director of Sydney-based brokerage Aventus Finance.

“We look at the features and flexibility of the product, and if it will accommodate to what they are looking to achieve,” Giardina said.

Giardina said it was “ultimately dependant” on the client and what they wanted to achieve.

“By figuring out their goals, we can build a strategy around that,” he said. “If the client is feeling the pinch of rising interest rates and wants to offset some of those rises, then interest-only repayments may be a suitable solution to get them through this period.”

Redom Syed (pictured above right), director of Confidence Finance, said in some cases where cash flow was very stretched, switching to interest-only was an “effective short-term solution”. 

“It does cost more over time though, so it’s a balancing act about current cash flow versus higher interest costs,” Syed said.

The timeline of interest-only loans

Worried that interest-only lending could create a situation where high-risk homebuyers become overexposed, APRA had closely monitored the regulations surrounding interest-only lending since 2014.

By 2017, interest-only lending made up 64% of investment lending with a further 23% evident in owner-occupied lending.

This caused the prudential regulators to announce new measures for banks to cap their new interest-only lending to 30% of their total new residential mortgage lending.   

While investors and owner-occupied borrowers made extensive use of interest-only borrowing for a range of reasons, it was the residential housing investors that made the most use of these loans. 

“With interest payments on investment loans being tax deductible it reduced the incentive to pay down the principal on investment lending,” said Field.

“Investors also preferred interest-only loans to principal and interest loans in the past because they offered greater repayments flexibility.”

Another reason, said Field, was that interest-only payments provided investors with the ability to better manage their cash flow. 

“Borrowers found they could level out fluctuating incomes or build buffers for future expenditures on their investment properties, such as renovation or larger maintenance items,” Field said.

The reasoning was that interest-only loans with offset facilities could minimise investment costs over the loan period and provide readily available funds for other uses. This allowed them to gain certainty about their monthly expenses while still benefiting from cost minimisation.

By December 2018, APRA had removed the restriction on interest-only loans.

However, with ADIs required to carry more capital for this type of lending, the gap between interest-only and P&I investment lending rates and P&I investment lending rates widened.

As the market entered a low-rate cycle, many borrowers have since elected to take P&I repayments.

A new market with new challenges

Fast forward to 2023, and investors with one or two properties, who we often call “mum and dad investors”, now make up over 90% of all rental property owners in Australia, according to Field.

With the unanticipated rise in interest rates over the past 12 months, and the continuing increase in shortfall between rental incomes and mortgage costs, the impact is starting to hit household budgets. 

While rent has risen in all markets around Australia, Field said it generally had not risen as much as mortgage costs and reducing the impact on the household budget was becoming a priority for mum and dad investors.

“With just under 30% of all new stock on the market reported as being generated from investor-owned listings, at Auswide Bank we are starting to see the pressures facing these investors,” Field said.

While it was still “very much a supply and demand” market with “strong” owner-occupier representation evident, Field said the importance of properties continuing to be available for rent to help accommodate everyday Australians could not be understated.

“With a large number of investment loans now on P&I repayments, as well as their owner-occupied mortgages, the challenge of balancing cashflow is becoming more and more evident and investors should be taking to time to review their strategies with their brokers, accountants and financial advisors.”

What strategies can brokers use for investor clients?

When it comes to guiding investor clients, brokers can implement various strategies to navigate changing market conditions and optimise their financial positions.

Aside from accessing lenders who offered discounted rates and offering offset accounts, Field said it ultimately came down to minimising cashflow impact.

“Consider reducing the cashflow pressure of P&I repayments on the investment lending by switching back to interest-only,” Field said. “This strategy will free up the principal that was being applied to the investment lending, allowing it to be utilised towards the increase in P&I repayments for any owner-occupied lending.”

In contrast, Syed said investors had been the “big winners” from the reduced serviceability buffer rate policy some lenders have implemented, making it easier for investors to cope with principal and interest.

“There is now real competition in this space, with more than five lenders offering this policy. Investors, particularly on high-rate non-bank loans, can swap to lower rate options by utilising these lower benchmarks.  If they don’t meet policy, fewer adjustments are required to pass serviceability,” Syed said.

“There are also serviceability improvements to non-bank lending options that can help reduce repayments too.”

Finally, Giardina said what all three agreed with – that the main goal was to make sure these clients were as “informed and prepared as possible”.

“We encourage them to review existing loans and determine if there are opportunities within the portfolio to refinance to a lower interest rate. We also recommend to budget and forecast for at least another one to two rate rises in the future,” Giardina said.

“It’s important to get really clear on what these expenses are going to look like and how it will affect their current cash flow position.”

Queensland has won the lion’s share of exodus to an affordable regional lifestyle, with the Sunshine State taking four of the top 10 spots in Hotspotting’s latest property rankings.

The Hotspotting Exodus to Lifestyle – National Top 10 report has revealed the top affordable lifestyle locations with the best upside potential, based on the following property metrics:

• rising sales activity with potential for capital growth,
• plenty of houses at affordable prices,
• strong infrastructure, both existing and planned, and
• proximity to major job nodes.

Here are the national top 10 affordable lifestyle locations:

1. City of Gerldton, WA
2. City of Toowoomba, Qld
3. Rural City of Murray Bridge, SA
4. Gladstone, Queensland
5. City of Mandurah, WA
6. Hunter Valley, NSW
7. Mitchell Shire, Victoria
8. City of Mt Gambier, SA
9. Cairns, Queensland
10. Lockyer Valley, Queensland

Terry Ryder (pictured above), Hotspotting director, said many of the homebuyers searching for affordable lifestyle locations head to Queensland to take advantage of the state’s solid property metrics.

“According to the latest stats from the ABS, the Sunshine State’s net population increased by 2.2% – or 116,000 new residents – in the year to December 2022, with about 35,500 being interstate migrants,” Ryder said.

“Interestingly, Sydney net interstate migration was a fall of about 31,500, with many of these people heading to the more affordable lifestyle markets throughout Queensland.”

Tim Graham, Hotspotting general manager, said the “exodus to affordable lifestyle” has shaken up the real estate game for the past five to 10 years.  

The trend has been thrust into the spotlight in recent years, however, because many assumed its momentum was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryder said.

“However, its growth has been primarily due to individuals and families seeking a better lifestyle and affordability that is made possible through remote working that advances in technology have allowed for,” he said.

“As of recently, the most desirable areas for relocation have been Queensland and Western Australia, with Queensland at the very top of the list.”

Graham noted that over the past five years, the regions have outperformed the capital cities in price growth and were proving to be more resilient as many markets were experiencing a downturn in prices.

Ryder said people were also making a “hill change,” as they explored hinterland and country regions such as those in Queensland and Victoria, instead of moving towards the coast.

“Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria have all experienced population growth due to migration from within Australia as well as from abroad,” he said. “This makes them all viable options for potential investors, offering a win-win situation of lower prices, higher rental yields, and greater potential for price growth.”

Graham said the economy, transport links, infrastructure, affordable housing, and the lifestyle offered were the top factors to consider when choosing the right location.

“Western and South Australia are among the most desirable locations, but wherever you may decide, the important thing to remember is that the exodus to affordable lifestyle is here to stay,” he said.

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ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence has tumbled for the third consecutive week, down 0.7pts to 72.6 this week.

“The confidence level was among the five worst results since the COVID outbreak and has stayed below 80 for 20 straight weeks,” said Adelaide Timbrell (pictured above), ANZ senior economist.

Consumer confidence is currently down 9.2pts compared to the same week a year ago, July 11-17, 2022 (81.8), and down 5.8pts the weekly average of 78.4 this year. Across the states, consumer confidence was down in New South Wales and Victoria, but up slightly in Queensland, WA, and SA.

Timbrell said the “decline in the latest result was mainly driven by weaker confidence in ‘current financial conditions,’” with now just 17% of Australians saying their families were “better off” financially (down 2ppts) than the same period last year, compared to a record 57% (up 4ppts) reporting their families were “worse off” financially.

Looking forward, 28% (up 1ppt) of Australians were expecting their family to be “better off” financially this time next year, while 40% (up 1ppt) believed they would be “worse off.”

“Among the housing cohorts, confidence fell to a record low for those renting,” Tmbrell said. “It improved among those paying off their homes but remained below 70, while it fell for those who own their homes outright.”

When it comes to economic conditions, an unchanged 6% of Australians expect the Australian economy to experience good times over the next 12 months compared to 42% (down 1ppt) that expect “bad time.”

Meanwhile, sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer term remained very weak, with just 11% (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting “good times” for the economy over the next five years compared to the 21% (down 1ppt) that were expecting “bad times.”

Other indicators were little changed compared to a week ago, including time to buy a major household item, with 18% (up 1ppt) of Australians saying now is a “good time to buy” compared to a clear majority of 57% who say now is a “bad time to buy,” the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index showed.

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An NSW-based mortgage broker has continued with his previous career as a firefighter, juggling both careers as he seeks to bring security and stability to the lives of those he serves.

Allan Haddad (pictured above), who was recently promoted to senior Aussie mobile mortgage broker outskirts of Sydney, has revealed his double life extinguishing flames while igniting the hopes of countless clients seeking their dream homes.

Haddad said while a large part of his role was to provide community education in schools and conduct fire safety visits, some of his daily duties could get “nasty pretty quickly”.

“Responding to emergencies, car accidents, floods, different rescue incidents like impalements – it all can be challenging,” Haddad said. “Then there’s environmental spillages and hazardous material incidents and of course the fires, so there is a lot that we deal with.”

“Our goal out there is to try and reduce that number by doing our productive community initiatives and that’s what we work towards but I guess an average day in the life looks like a combination of all those things.”

Work-life balance

Haddad’s career as a firefighter started in 2018. Being on call for two full days a week, in shifts of 24 hours each, Haddad said firefighters often had a second job.

“It tends to work well in terms of work-life balance. I was looking around for what I wanted to do, and I’ve always had a passion for property and finance,” Haddad said. “I guess helping people is something I always wanted to do, and I wanted to monetise all three so mortgage broking made sense.”

After becoming certified and researching what aggregators he wanted to work with, Haddad had “taken a gamble” and started his second full-time job at Aussie as a mobile broker. 

While the first months were slow, business picked up and he settled over $20 million in loans within a six-month period.

“I didn’t expect to see the success in such a short period of time, but I guess it’s just a testament to the work that I put in for my clients,” Haddad said. “My weekends were filled with delving into policy and  procedure and looking for different ways to help my customers move forward.”

“I was pretty happy to see the results that I did. And now I want to continue building on that foundation.”

Haddad celebrating his promotion to senior mortgage broker with his team

The quality that firefighters and brokers need

While the worlds of broking and firefighting might not seem to interlink, Haddad said certain qualities were crucial for both roles.

“I think the quality that stands out the most for me between both roles is integrity. For me, integrity is about doing the right thing when no one else is watching. Firefighting, we are trusted to go into people’s homes when no one’s home. As firefighters and respected public professionals, we’re expected to fly that flag and uphold that standard,” Haddad said.

Haddad said it was the same for mortgage broking – brokers followed best interest duty to do what’s right by the customer and not the bank.

“I feel that I utilise the same set of morals and values across both roles – it’s super interchangeable. I feel like as long as I stay honest and do the best possible thing by the community member or client in need, I can’t go wrong,” Haddad said.

Haddad’s message to other brokers is that while it can get competitive, it’s not always about trying to get the deal across the line.

“Ultimately, people are going into the biggest debt of their lives. If they are not ready, you can’t twist their hands. I’m all about nurturing and servicing the client through the [process and looking after them at any stage,” Haddad said.

“Naturally, people will come back to you because you left a good taste in their mouth initially, and that’s the motto I stick by and what works for me.”

Haddad (centre) winning award after the successful resuscitation of a toddler in Sydney’s CBD

Similarities between fire and finance

Another similarity for both jobs is the benefit of being risk averse.

Haddad said when you approached a fire you had a choice: to enter a risky situation or take a look around and consider your options.

“I think it goes hand in hand with brokering. Sometimes clients come to me and they think that serviceability is demonstrated, or that they’re in a position to enter the market, when in reality we need to still build a plan over the next six to 12 months or something similar where they’re not quite ready yet,” Haddad said.

“I think it’s about recognising that there’s not always a deal in place and sometimes we need to nurture, take a step back and put a good plan in place to be able to achieve their goals.”

While the workload could be challenging, Haddad said he didn’t have any plans to step away from firefighting any time soon. Her urged other brokers to take up a community initiative, paid or not.

“It’s something I love very dearly and enjoy doing. I don’t do it for the money, I do it for the love of it,” Haddad said.  

“Any level of community service, whether it’s volunteering with the rural fire service, state emergency service or similar, can bring someone a great sense of pride and self-respect. It’s something that you can’t really explain or put a price on it.”

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Last week the Reserve Bank handed down some news that would affect mortgage brokers and borrowers nationwide.

From changes to the RBA board’s meeting frequency, more press conferences, and five-year reviews, to the appointment of a new governor and several vacant positions left to fill, these decisions potentially have far-reaching effects on the economy.

The decision to name deputy governor Michele Bullock as the new Reserve Bank governor will soon bring Philip Lowe’s turbulent seven-year reign – a tenure that oversaw his quantitative easing policy, which injected money into the economy and reduced the cash rate down to record lows during the pandemic, and its subsequent rise, increasing 400 basis points in just 13 months.

But perhaps what he will be most remembered for is bringing the RBA into the mainstream – where talk about monetary policy is as familiar for punters having a beer at the pub as it is in the RBA boardroom.

Now the stage is set for a new era. But will it bring an easing to the recent rate increases or is there more pain ahead?

Will the new governor implement reform or stick to the status quo?

Much has been said about Bullock’s new role that will start on September 18.

Speaking to ABC Radio, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the incoming Reserve Bank governor was expected to bring a “reform agenda” to the institution.

Sharon Farrar (pictured above left), an NSW-based Mortgage Express broker, backed Bullock in to do a great job but said while she may be responsible for leading and implementing changes to policy, the driver of what lies ahead would ultimately be up to the RBA board.

“Sure, Michele has a tough job ahead of her for the next six to 12 months but I’m sure she’s up for the job,” Farrar said.

Raj Ladher (pictured above right), a mortgage broker at Equilibria Finance, also congratulated Bullock on her historic appointment as the Reserve Bank’s first female governor since it launched in 1959.

But while Ladher admitted that Bullock was “very experienced” and may have plans for reform, he did not believe the appointment would make a “significant difference” to the role of the RBA in the economy.

“Michele has also worked at the central bank for nearly 40 years so I would imagine the bank’s DNA is engrained in her,” Ladher said.

What will the review’s changes to the RBA mean for mortgage brokers?

Before the new governor was officially announced last Friday, Lowe announced a host of changes would be implemented following a government review.

These include that the RBA board will meet eight times a year rather than 11, that Bullock will hold a press conference after each meeting explaining the board’s decisions, and that the RBA’s framework will be reviewed every five years.

Ladher said Bullock was “well-placed” to implement these changes, but the decision to reduce board meetings “could go either way” in terms of future rate rises.

“The reasoning of the reduced meetings is to give time to any rate change decision and track its impact – good or bad. This however could mean that there could be higher increments to interest rates higher or lower,” Ladher said.

“This will give borrowers some security of rates holding for two more months out of the year which allows them to budget slightly more than the current 11 meetings.”

Farrar agreed, saying the timing of the meetings could allow for the RBA to base its decision on more data.

“From what I have read four of the meetings will be on the first Tuesday of February, May, August and November. The other four meetings will be held midway between those meetings,” Farrar said.

“I’m hoping for a positive impact because the midway meetings may now align with the release of other important data such as cost of living and unemployment figures that effect the economy and impact interest rate decisions.”

Ladher said he did not believe Bullock’s recommendations would result in “fundamental change” to the RBA’s policy but said it may change the methodology on how the RBA reached its decisions on setting interest rates.

“One of the main recommendations from the review was to include recommendations and feedback from experts outside the bank prior to making a rate decision,” Ladher said.

Will there be more rate rises?

With many borrowers experiencing mortgage stress, the question many people are asking is if the RBA will continue its hawkish approach to curb inflation and raise rates.

While the major banks are indicating more rate hikes in the near future before declining next year, Ladher said the situation was a “moving beast” and he didn’t believe anyone could say what’s coming next with great certainty.

‘If we go off commentary from the RBA along with what chief economists of the major banks are predicting, there will be another  one to two rate rises at 0.25% each, peaking the cash rate at 4.35% to 4.60%,” Ladher said.

“With inflation being one of the main measures on setting the cash rate and still above the target or 2% to 3%, further rate rises do seem likely unfortunately.”

Farrar relayed what she often told her clients when they asked about rate rises.

“My crystal ball is a bit blurry at the moment. I am still positioning them that there could be another increase if the next release of inflation figures haven’t seen a further slowing of the economy,” Farrar said.

“If they have then we should enter a period of rate stability before a decrease – fingers crossed – by late next year.”

A commercial finance private lender has announced the appointment of a new business development manager in Queensland.

Renae Long (pictured) joins Aquamore to take charge of expanding the company’s Queensland metro and regional reach, by spearheading educational initiatives in collaboration with non-bank and alternative finance lenders, actively engaging in industry events, and evolving her already extensive network.

In her new role, Long, a licensed broker and business leader with banking and finance experience as BDM, will work with the NSW and Victoria BDM teams under the direction of Matthew Porch, head of distribution at Aquamore.

“I am extremely passionate about supporting my brokers to achieve the best outcomes for their customers and working with my team to achieve results – particularly for ‘out-of-the-box’ scenarios,” she said.

Long said the non-bank is a “good fit culturally” and supports her skillsets.

“On this note, my goal is to provide excellent support to brokers and the team, develop my current skills, and be at the forefront of industry changes, and use my industry knowledge and connections to optimise the company’s performance,” she said.

Prior to joining Aquamore, Long served as a BDM at non-bank lender MKM Capital for more than two years. She was also a director at FAMBrokers – Mortgage and Finance for nearly four years.

Porch said expanding the lender’s BDM team is a core part of its strategy to increase the company’s market share in a rapidly evolving commercial lending landscape.

Long’s appointment followed that of Narine Kalloghlian, who took on the role of BDM in NSW. Kalloghlian was an account manager then a senior loan writer for OnDeck.

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“Business finance made simple” is the motto of Earlypay, a company that assists small and medium-sized enterprises by providing them with invoice and debtor finance.

The company provides access to a flexible credit line and a realistic payment plan to help SMEs meet their cash flow needs, particularly during difficult economic conditions.

Now Earlypay Business development manager Tony Harmey (pictured above) has been honoured as one of Australian Broker’s 5-Star BDMs in 2023.

Earlypay has grown impressively in recent years despite pandemic-related issues in the SME sector. It recorded profits of $8.7 million and no losses in 2021. Thanks to its new online strategy and lending platform, Earlypay’s client numbers also increased and its loan book grew.

Harmey shares with Australian Broker what he believes are the most important attributes of a successful, award-winning BDM including:

• product knowledge
• being a good listener and asking the right questions
• ability to build solid relationships, which involves the readiness to speak with clients any time
• a growth mindset, which requires knowing the clients’ products and pain points
• resilience in the face of challenges, and
• empathy

In an interview with Australian Broker TV,  Harmey said that Earlypay helped businesses succeed by providing funds so they can grow at scale “without taking on additional debt. … It’s not really a loan, we just accelerate the advance on their debt”.

Earlypay also maintains close partnerships with brokers and educates them through a scholarship program, which has mentored 120 participants so far.

Complimenting Earlypay’s culture, Harmey said his managers were very supportive of his work. “I’ve got so many different avenues. I could reach out for any type of support [required] to move forward … so yes, it’s great. I love it.”