NEWS
MARKET RISING MARKET DEMAND FOR CAR, HOME LOANS credit demand continues to decline, but the rate of decline is slowing, according to Equifax’s March quarterly consumer credit demand index. Despite credit cards and personal loan demand remaining soft, auto loans applications rose 3.7% and ‘buy now, pay later’ was up 4% compared to last year. Demand for mortgages grew by 23.5%. Equifax general manager advisory and solutions Kevin James said, “The market is showing a shift to assetbased lending, with mortgages and auto loans proving more popular than credit cards and personal loans.” CONSUMER
SMES OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE — STUDY is returning to the SME sector after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by non-bank lender ScotPac. The ScotPac SME Growth Index surveyed 1,253 small business owners about their expectations for growth in 2021; of these, 48% said they anticipated positive revenue growth this year. “I’m not surprised as we’ve seen with our own clients through 2020 and into this year that they are very keen to get back to business as usual,” said ScotPac CEO Jon Sutton. “We know small business owners are resilient, and passionate about business success.” OPTIMISM
Antoinette Sagaria, vendor’s agent, and Damien Roylance, managing director, Entourage
VENDOR’S AGENT TAKES ALL THE HASSLE OUT OF SELLING YOUR PROPERTY Melbourne company Entourage has a point of difference in the property market – a vendor’s agent who helps sellers find the best real estate agent brokers will be aware of buyers’ agents, but one Melbourne real estate agent is offering a unique service to clients: vendors’ agents. Vendor’s agents essentially do the job of buyers’ agents in reverse: helping clients to list, prepare and ultimately sell their homes for a flat fee. Property and finance company Entourage, based in Cremorne, Victoria, has experienced a huge uptick in business as property prices have boomed. Managing director Damien Roylance explained to Australian Broker what Entourage’s vendor’s agent, Antoinette Sagaria, does for the company’s clients. MOST
“The vendor advocacy, which has been huge for the last 12 months, I would compare to a mortgage broker,” he said. “Antoinette, our advocate, gets the brief regarding what the property is and will then interview two or three agents to find the best one to run the campaign in conjunction with them. The client doesn’t really need to do too much; they don’t need to engage with the agent. “Sometimes the agents can do too much and pull tricks even when they’re selling your property, to try and commit to certain prices. But Antoinette is the middleman between the
client and the agent, and that’s a complimentary service. “She takes a cut of the agent’s commission. So that’s a great perk: you get a qualified real estate person working for you and cutting through all the nonsense that the agent can spin you as someone who is 100% on your side.” Entourage includes a mortgage broker section, so offers buying, selling and financing options. “With Entourage, the finance is the engine,” said Roylance. “There’s five brokers in here with a trail book and big existing clients. When we speak to a finance client who is looking to upgrade their homes and has that trigger to sell, we introduce them to Antoinette, which works really well to make sure that everything happens as it should. “We can help our clients out on both sides: to get the most on the sale and the least on the buy.”
“Antoinette, our vendor’s advocate, gets the brief regarding what the property is and will then interview two or three agents to find the best one” Damien Roylance Managing director, Entourage
QUARTERLY CONSUMER CREDIT DEMAND — MARCH 2021* Source: Equifax Quarterly Consumer Credit Demand Index, March 2021
14%
28.9%
14.5%
4%
3.7%
23.5%
Overall consumer credit applications down
Credit card applications down
Personal loan applications down
Buy now, pay later applications trending up
Auto loan applications increased
Mortgage applications up
*Compared to March quarter 2020
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