- New research shows six smaller lenders have increased their new mortgage volumes despite a market decline in NSW
- All four big banks took a hit to mortgage volumes in the past year
- NSW LRS spokesperson says mortgage market decline reflects the cooling conditions of Sydney's property sector
The sun is shining for some smaller lenders in NSW as the cooling property market brings opportunity for mortgage volume growth.
New research by the NSW Land Registry Services found six smaller lenders had experienced growth in newly-originated mortgages over the past year.
The state’s mortgage market as a whole however, has declined by nearly 16,000 mortgage registrations.
The big banks have not been immune to the market’s fall, with the big four banks all experiencing year-on-year declines.
Only six of the lenders included in the top 25 ranking recorded a percentage increase in mortgage registrations between October 2021 and September 2022.
Change in new mortgage registrations (NMR)
| Rank | Lender | NMR Oct 2020 – Sep 2021 | NMR Oct 2021 – Sep 2022 | Change (no.) | Change (%) |
| 1 | MyState Bank | 363 | 713 | 350 | 96.4% |
| 2 | BNY Mellon | 460 | 650 | 190 | 41.3% |
| 3 | Bluestone | 753 | 915 | 162 | 21.5% |
| 4 | Suncorp Bank | 2532 | 2892 | 360 | 14.2% |
| 5 | Great Southern Bank | 1253 | 1379 | 126 | 10.1% |
| 6 | Pepper Money | 2321 | 2370 | 49 | 2.1% |
| 7 | Bank of Queensland | 2160 | 2105 | -55 | -2.5% |
| 8 | Westpac | 30881 | 29731 | -1150 | -3.7% |
| 9 | Macquarie Bank | 8662 | 8110 | -552 | -6.4% |
| 10 | Perpetual | 4362 | 4079 | -283 | -6.5% |
| 11 | NAB | 25187 | 23341 | -1846 | -7.3% |
| 12 | Heritage Bank | 871 | 805 | -66 | -7.6% |
| N/A | Entire NSW Market | 183394 | 167450 | -15944 | -8.7% |
| 13 | ANZ | 16984 | 15336 | -1648 | -9.7% |
| 14 | Commonwealth Bank | 47874 | 41963 | -5911 | -12.3% |
| 15 | Liberty | 1304 | 1132 | -172 | -13.2% |
| 16 | AMP Bank | 1988 | 1682 | -306 | -15.4% |
| 17 | Firstmac | 1140 | 954 | -186 | -16.3% |
| 18 | Teachers Mutual Bank | 1414 | 1168 | -246 | -17.4% |
| 19 | Bendigo & Adelaide Bank | 4281 | 3444 | -837 | -19.6% |
| 20 | HSBC | 1903 | 1530 | -373 | -19.6% |
| 21 | Greater Bank | 1252 | 992 | -260 | -20.8% |
| 22 | IMB Bank | 1261 | 998 | -263 | -20.9% |
| 23 | Newcastle Permanent BS | 2156 | 1666 | -490 | -22.7% |
| 24 | ING | 4760 | 3478 | -1282 | -26.9% |
| 25 | Regional Australia Bank | 1281 | 934 | -347 | -27.1% |
Source: NSW Land Registry Services
MyState Bank came out on top, increasing its number of new mortgage registrations almost twofold.
Non-bank lenders BNY Mellon and Bluestone followed with percentage changes of 41.3% and 21.5% respectively.
Some of Australia’s more notable banks including Macquarie Bank, ING and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank experienced year-on-year declines alongside the big four.
NSW Land Registry Services’ head of data and insights Jerry Goldfried said mortgage declines in the big banks reflect downturns in the Sydney market.
Mr Goldfried explained that with fewer active buyers in the market for homes in the state, a decline in new mortgage volumes is only logical.
Cooling market conditions are evident in price statistics which show that Sydney’s median property price increased in the year to September 2021, before declining in the year to September 2022.
“As a result, NSW Land Registry Services data show that new mortgage volumes in the New South Wales market as a whole fell 8.7% in the year to September 2022.”
Jerry Goldfried, NSW LRS head of data & insights
“Sometimes, it can be easier to grow when you’re a smaller institution, because you’re
starting from a lower base.
It’s also possible those institutions took certain strategic or marketing decisions that allowed them to do more new business, even as the market as a whole went backwards,” Mr Goldfried concluded.
