Australia's mortgage market is one of the largest consumer finance markets in the world: $2.60 trillion in outstanding housing credit, more than $100 billion in new loan commitments every quarter, and over one hundred thousand borrowers switching lenders each quarter. This page collects the key numbers in one place, sourced from the RBA, ABS, MFAA and APRA, with a link to the primary source for every figure.
We publish this data because we sell verified mortgage and refinance leads to brokers, and the market context below is exactly what a broker needs to size the opportunity.
By Andreas, PrimeLeads founder · Last updated 11 July 2026
Sources: RBA Financial Aggregates, May 2026, ABS Lending Indicators, March quarter 2026, RBA cash rate and RBA housing lending rates. Last updated 11 July 2026.
Total housing credit grew 7.5% in the year to May 2026, split between $1.75 trillion of owner occupier lending and $0.86 trillion of investor lending (RBA). New commitments in the March quarter 2026 were $61.4 billion to owner occupiers and $41.5 billion to investors (ABS).
External refinancing, where a borrower moves to a different lender, ran at 66,617 owner occupier loans ($42.9 billion) and 37,181 investor loans ($25.3 billion) in the March quarter 2026. Another 64,000 borrowers refinanced internally with their existing lender (ABS).
The savings on the table are real. A June 2026 Canstar analysis found a borrower with a $600,000 balance at 6.98% could save at least $10,713 over two years by refinancing under 6%, even after switching costs, with repayments dropping $371 a month. Yet the same analysis found only 6% of mortgage holders switched lenders in the past year, and 52% have never switched at all.
For a broker, that gap is the business: a large pool of borrowers paying a loyalty tax, and more than one hundred thousand of them acting each quarter. The brokers who win them are the ones in front of the borrower when the decision happens, which is why we deliver refinance leads in real time.
Brokers settled $124.88 billion in new home loans in the March 2026 quarter, up $25.51 billion on the same quarter last year, according to the MFAA. Broker share has climbed from 55.3% in March 2018 to 81.0% in March 2026.
The flip side: broker numbers are at record highs too. The MFAA's Industry Intelligence Service counted 22,265 brokers as at September 2024, up 12% in a year. Four in five loans now go through a broker, but there have never been more brokers competing for them. Client acquisition, not lender access, is the constraint, we cover the playbook in how mortgage brokers get more clients.
The RBA cash rate sits at 4.35% as at July 2026. After cutting to 3.60% by August 2025, the RBA lifted the rate three times across February, March and May 2026, then held it steady at the June meeting (RBA cash rate decisions).
Source: ABS Lending Indicators, March quarter 2026, original series. Last updated 11 July 2026.
Queensland's average new loan has overtaken Victoria's, reflecting the strength of the Brisbane market, where dwelling values rose 17.4% in the year to June 2026 (Cotality). Larger loans mean larger trail books per client, which changes what a broker can afford to pay to acquire one.
Despite higher rates, arrears remain low. Non performing residential mortgages were 0.99% of credit outstanding in the December 2025 quarter, down from 1.05% a year earlier, and loans 30 to 89 days past due fell to 0.47% (APRA quarterly property exposure statistics).
The RBA's March 2026 Financial Stability Review found the share of housing loans more than three months in arrears "has declined over the past year, returning to around pre-pandemic levels" (RBA FSR).
PrimeLeads supplies exclusive, SMS verified mortgage and refinance leads on a pay per lead basis, and appointment setting if you want qualified borrowers booked straight into your calendar. For the full acquisition playbook, read how mortgage brokers get more clients.
About $2.60 trillion in outstanding housing credit as at May 2026 (RBA), with $103.0 billion in new loan commitments in the March quarter 2026 alone (ABS).
A record 81.0% of new residential home loans in the March 2026 quarter, according to the MFAA Quarterly Market Share Report. Broker share has grown from 55.3% in March 2018.
In the March quarter 2026, 103,798 borrowers refinanced to a new lender ($68.2 billion), and roughly 64,000 more refinanced internally with their existing lender (ABS Lending Indicators).
The average new owner occupier loan was $735,000 nationally in the March quarter 2026, ranging from $675,000 in Victoria to $860,000 in New South Wales (ABS).
With the RBA cash rate at 4.35% (July 2026), new owner occupier variable loans averaged 6.23% p.a. in May 2026 (RBA table F6), and new investor variable loans around 6.4%.
22,265 as at September 2024, a record high and up 12% year on year, per the MFAA Industry Intelligence Service (19th edition).
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