Australian Finance Group brokers lodged just under 39,000 mortgages valued at $28.1 billion in the final quarter of FY26 - the strongest June quarter on record and a 1.4% increase on the prior year.
Sharp geographic divide between east and west coast markets emerges as the defining feature of Australia's lending landscape.
AFG chief executive officer David Bailey said the result reflected the resilience of the broker channel.
“Following the strongest March quarter on record, some easing in June was expected, especially after the Federal Budget announcements on 12 May and during a tightening rate cycle," Bailey said.
"Despite divergence across states and shifting borrower sentiment mid-quarter, we delivered positive year-on-year growth and a record-high average loan size.”
AFG Securities finished FY26 with strong momentum, closing with a record loan book of $7.1 billion, a 30% lift in just 12 months while maintaining disciplined credit standards and good arrears performance.
Lodgements reached $1.4 billion for the final quarter of FY26, the strongest June quarter on record, while June lodgements were the highest month ever recorded.
Nationally, residential lodgements for the quarter remained positive overall, although activity became more uneven late in the period. After a strong start in April and May 2026, June moderated as borrowers took time to assess the Federal Budget changes and the cumulative impact of recent RBA cash rate increases.
“We believe the fiscal policy changes announced during the quarter will represent a period of readjustment rather than a structural shift in underlying demand,” Bailey said.
“We have seen patchy investor volumes as the market absorbs the new settings, and the data is consistent with some borrowers pausing or reassessing plans.
"We view this as transitional, and broker demand has remained resilient.
"Western Australia’s continued strength, driven by its resource-sector economy and supply-constrained housing market, reinforced its position as a standout contributor to national volumes.”
Upgrader activity climbed to 44% of total residential lodgements. This level has only been reached twice before, in 2022 and 2018.
Investor participation for the quarter eased slightly from 35% to 34%, with the month of June unsurprisingly softening to 32%.
“First Home Buyer demand held at 12%, with no noticeable impact from the changes implemented by the Federal Budget as yet," Bailey said.
"Refinancing ticked up to 16% following its record low of 15% in Q3, potentially signalling the floor in the long-running refinancing downtrend.
"It is still at the lower end of the long-term averages and as interest rate movements kick into household budgets, our expectation is that this will lift.”
The national average loan size reached a record high of $727,345, up 7.2% on the prior year, with the national LVR falling to 63%, the lowest level recorded in AFG’s data.
Borrowers continued to strongly favour variable-rate products, which rose to 87.5% of lodgements; fixed-rate retreated to 3.8% following Q3’s spike to 5.4%.
“Looking under the hood at lender performance, Westpac brands captured an 18% market share for the quarter, marginally ahead of CBA and ANZ brands at 16%, with Macquarie close behind at 14%," Bailey said.
"NAB remained flat at 8%, but over-indexed in investor flows at 36%."
AFG Home Loans delivered a standout quarter with $2.28 billion in lodgements, up 28.0% on the prior year.
Market share of total AFG broker lodgements reached 7.9%, the highest level recorded in recent years.
“The continued growth in AFG Home Loans reflects the strength and breadth of our product portfolio and the trust our broker partners place in our proprietary offering,” Bailey said.
“Australians retain confidence in property as a long-term asset class, and the role of brokers has never been more important to borrowers navigating significant change."
