Chart of the Day 2

Chart of the Day 2

Refinancing is at record levels right now. Chart has ABS data to the end of the March quarter. This chart was specially prepared for me 😊 from a Housing Market Update by Cotality (nee CoreLogic) at a session run by Westpac. Industry normally focuses on external refi's to other banks only, but incumbent banks have been fighting harder to retain customers in recent times (hence why I asked to see the internal refi numbers). This can be seen in the rising pink line in the graph which is nearly at half the value of external refi's. When home purchase activity is flat to slightly negative, like it has been, we see a rise in refi's. I made refi's at 51% of total new loans by my numbers (well, ABS numbers). By now, it could be closer to 60%.

You should talk to your broker if you're curious about whether you can get a better deal. It's very active out there. Sometimes merely letting your current bank know that you're looking around can result in better rates!

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