More than four out of every five new home loans in Australia are now arranged through a broker. Mortgage brokers facilitated a record 81.6% of new residential lending in the June 2026 quarter, according to Cotality data commissioned by the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia – up from 53.9% just eight years ago. That’s not a small shift. It’s a fundamental change in how Australians go about getting a home loan.
The numbers behind the headline
The June quarter result was up 0.6 percentage points on March, and 4.0 percentage points higher than the same quarter last year. Broker-facilitated lending hit $139.08 billion for the quarter – the highest volume ever recorded for a June quarter. The 27.7 percentage point rise since 2018 has happened across some very different conditions: strong price growth, pandemic-era refinancing waves, rapid rate rises, and now a period of tighter borrowing capacity and more cautious lending. That it’s held up through all of that says something about why borrowers are choosing this path.
Why the shift keeps happening
It really comes down to choice, and the fact that “choice” has gotten a lot more complicated than just comparing advertised rates.
Different lenders assess borrowers differently – how they treat overtime and bonus income, self-employed earnings, existing debts, HECS-HELP obligations, or investment property income can all vary meaningfully from one bank to the next. When rates are elevated and every basis point counts, that variation matters more than it used to. A broker’s job is essentially to match a borrower’s specific circumstances to the lender most likely to assess them favourably – not just chase the lowest headline rate.
Higher rates have sharpened this further. A borrower facing a rate rise might want to compare repricing with their existing lender against refinancing elsewhere, weigh up offset and redraw features, or understand break costs on a fixed rate. Working through all of that alone is a lot to take on – particularly while also trying to keep up with everyday life.
Australia isn’t alone in this. The MFAA notes that Australia is one of only three countries – alongside the UK and the Netherlands – where brokers arrange more than 80% of home lending, which suggests borrowers everywhere are gravitating toward the same thing: someone who can navigate the fine print on their behalf rather than doing it borrower by borrower against a single lender’s product range.
What this doesn’t tell us
It’s worth being upfront about the limits of this data too. The national figure doesn’t break down broker usage by state, so we can’t say whether Victorians are using brokers more or less than borrowers in Queensland or WA. It also doesn’t isolate first home buyers specifically, even though there are good reasons – smaller deposits, government guarantee eligibility, grant and concession rules, unfamiliar loan features – why brokers might be especially useful for that group.
None of that changes the headline trend, but it’s a reminder that 81.6% is a national average, not a claim that every borrower’s experience looks the same.
What it means for you
A record market share doesn’t mean every borrower needs a broker – plenty of people are well served going direct to their bank. What it does show is that comparison has become the norm rather than the exception, and that borrowers increasingly want someone in their corner who can look across multiple lenders rather than starting and ending with one.
If you are weighing up a broker, it’s still worth understanding how they’re paid, which lenders they have access to, and whether the loan on the table actually suits your situation – not just whether it’s competitive today. A few questions worth asking upfront: how many lenders does the broker actually compare, do they disclose commission arrangements clearly, and will they still be available to help if your circumstances or the rate environment change down the track?
Key takeaways
- Brokers arranged a record 81.6% of new home loans in the June 2026 quarter, up from 53.9% in 2018
- Broker-facilitated lending hit $139.08 billion for the quarter, the highest ever for a June period
- The rise reflects growing complexity in lender policy and serviceability, not just rate comparison
- The national figure doesn’t break down by state or first-home-buyer status, so usage patterns likely vary
Whether you’re buying or refinancing, we can compare lenders with you and help you understand which options actually suit your circumstances. Based in Richmond, Melbourne, and working with borrowers right across Australia – get in touch to start comparing your options.
