Major bank approval wait times blow out: who is offering instant approval home loans?

Customers applying for home loans with major banks may be experiencing longer wait times for approval than before, with some double and triple that of other banks. Homebuyers and refinancers will likely be wondering: who is offering instant approval home loans? 

New data released by Australian Finance Group to mortgage brokers, as reported by the Australian Financial Review, shows ANZ may be taking, on average, four and a half days to provide conditional approval, and more than 17 days for unconditional mortgages. 

Comparatively, Westpac was found to be taking just over three days for conditional home loans, and six and a half for unconditional loans. Whereas NAB may offer conditional approval in less than one day, and unconditional loans in just under 10 days. 

The Australian Finance Group data also showed CommBank may approve unconditional loans in five and a half days and Macquarie in just over four days.

Home buyers and refinancers know that timing is everything when it comes to mortgage approval. If you’re heading to the auction this weekend, or your fixed-rate home loan term is about to end, you cannot afford to wait. 

The good news is that there are a range of lenders offering approval in a matter of minutes, thanks to innovative new technology. 

Who is offering instant approval for home loans?

As the name suggests, an instant approval home loan implies that the lender will provide you with immediate information as to whether you may qualify for a home loan. This speedy approval is typically reserved for conditional/pre-approval home loans, with unconditional/full approval generally taking a number of days to weeks. 

Lenders like AMP Bank provide an online application form designed to fast-track your approval process through new technology, such as Open Banking, algorithms and APIs. The lenders can quickly assess applications and provide conditional approval in a matter of minutes from borrowers submitting an application. 

According to the RateCity database, the following lenders currently advertise fast approval times for home loan applicants.

Source: RateCity.com.au. Data accurate as of 14/06/2023.

Why are mortgage approval wait times blowing out?

It’s not known why some lenders may be taking longer to approve home loans than others. After over a year of near-consecutive hikes to the cash rate, it may be a matter of working overtime to go through a higher number of refinancers.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics lending indicators show a total of $19.3 billion worth of loans were refinanced in the month of April, in seasonally adjusted terms. This was the lowest level since December of last year. However, the volume of loans switching lenders was still $2.4 billion higher than it was a year prior in April 2022.

It appears that extreme mortgage competition may be starting to fade. In fact, a number of lenders have withdrawn their cashback offers that previously incentivised customers to sign up with them.

Without cashback incentives, Australian home loan customers may want to consider other lender perks, such as speed and efficiency in approval times, as a key priority when it comes to their mortgage goals. 

So, if you’re in the market for a new home loan, it may be worth factoring in the time the lender takes to approve your application, and not just the interest rate on offer. 

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