Rising interest rates make buyers more discerning
Mortgage broker Chris Bates believes great brokers “help families live their best lives” while creating the homes and financial freedom that brings them happiness and security.
Bates (pictured above), the founder and CEO of Blusk, has worked as a broker for 10 years, and while he’s based in NSW, his clients come from all over Australia.
“We are residential specialists who focus on helping higher income couples and families, predominately on the east coast, make great property decisions,” Bates said.
“Our clients are aspirational, career-minded with big dreams of owning their first home, or they are looking to upgrade to, renovate, or build, their forever home.”
Average loans over $1.2 million
Bates, an excellence awardee (finalist) in FBAA Broker of the Year - residential at the 2023 Australian Mortgage Awards, said Blusk’s clients’ incomes are usually $300,000 and above, and the average loan per client is over $1.2 million.
Rather than looking for refinancing work, Blusk instead focuses on working with first home buyers, clients looking to upgrade their properties or those who want to invest.
“We are a purchase-focused business and aim to add as much value as we can to those looking to make property moves,” Bates said.
Rising interest rates makes clients pickier
According to Bates, higher interest rates have resulted in clients becoming pickier when it comes to property selection with the most in-demand properties those which “tick all the boxes” for families.
Bates said to service his clients to the highest standard, in 2023 he heavily invested in his team, processes and technology, and he hopes to benefit from the return in market confidence in 2024 and beyond.
“We are now a team of over 20 and every month feels like a new record month in terms of settlements and lodgements,” Bates said.
“We are very confident on the future of mortgage broking for brokers who truly understand their value proposition and know how to be trusted advisers for their clients.”
Brokers need to form longer-term relationships
Bates said while there are challenges facing brokers in the current market, the key challenge now, and in the future, will be to clearly demonstrate the value of brokers beyond helping clients navigate interest rates, product selections and loan approvals.
“Your client must value a longer-term relationship with your services beyond setting up loans or getting a good rate,” Bates said.
According to Bates, 2023 proved an interesting year for buyers and brokers.
“The market has been solid from a buyer point of view from late 2022 all the way through 2023, however 2023 was a year where purchasers struggled to find quality properties or the budget to purchase in their preferred location,” Bates said.
“As 2023 progressed, purchases have been more frequent and buyers more urgent to transact.”
Bates said unless there are some major surprises when it comes to Australia’s inflation rates, buyers will want to buy property ahead of any rate cuts and competition will be fierce for quality assets in February.
When it comes to offering other brokers advice, Bates said brokers need to realise “you are your business and clients want a trusted adviser in their lives, not a transactor or validator”.
“Your personal values, beliefs and knowledge are your unique value proposition,” Bates said.
“The more you work on yourself, the more value you can offer your clients.
“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there whether that be through social content, marketing or professional partners.”
Brokers should focus on finding clients
Bates said once have passed the client acquisition problem, brokers should focus their energy on removing themselves from the credit process by hiring high quality team members to fulfil everything other than finding and winning clients.
“Scale will only be possible when you scale your time through great people working for you and having superb processes,” Bates said.
When it comes to working long hours, Bates said brokers should aim to work smarter, not harder or longer.
“In the early days, absolutely longer hours are necessary due to the amount of hours you waste trying to figure out what you should be focusing on,” Bates said.
“We have achieved all we have in recent years not working late nights, weekends, having two months plus off a year and only working 35 hours a week.
“There’s no point, we believe, in giving everything up to settle more - you don’t get to do life again.”
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