‘Ignored’ Aussie borrowers increasingly seeking out alternative options to enter the property market
Sucasa has rebranded to Skip, a few short years after leaping into the non-bank lending scene with its unique 2% deposit home loans.
With the rebrand, Skip’s founders aim to spotlight the lender’s stated mission to help borrowers “skip to the owning part” of buying a home.
Skip’s products allow borrowers to take out a low-deposit loan without purchasing lenders mortgage insurance, although alternative risk fees may apply. It has drawn interest from customers who are unable to take advantage of government initiatives like the 5% Deposit Scheme.
As an alternative lender, it offers less-restrictive lending criteria compared to the big banks, which have tightened their risk settings amid mounting regulatory scrutiny.
The group is seeing triple-digit year-on-year customer growth via direct and broker channels. Notably, Skip has seen considerable uptake in Brisbane, where it saw double-digit growth over the past three months alone, beating out Sydney as its second-most-active market behind Melbourne.
Read more: Million-dollar Brisbane is buckling under its own success
“The 2032 Olympic hosts were responsible for nearly 27% of all closed loans nationally in November, December and January on the Skip platform,” said the group.
Servicing ‘ignored’ Aussie borrowers
According to the Skip, seven in 10 of its loans go to “second-chance” owners who are currently trapped in the rental market, but can nonetheless afford a mortgage. As existing or previous homeowners, they are unable to reap the benefits of the government’s generous First Home Guarantee, which allows first-time buyers to purchase a home with just a 5% deposit.
Co-founder Mario Emmanuel (pictured, right) believes the first-home buyer bias in government homeownership support has led to an “emerging pool of ignored Aussies”.
“Most of the policy attention has been nobly directed to helping first home buyers,” said Emmanuel. “We should absolutely continue to work hard to address the challenges this group faces. But we shouldn’t be doing that at the expense of millions of others.
“An obsession with first home buyers is creating an emerging pool of ignored Aussies - people who have outgrown their current footprint and are finding it harder than ever to save for a deposit for the transition to more space.
“Just because someone once owned a unit and got their start on the metaphorical property ladder, doesn’t mean every rung above them is all of a sudden a breeze.
“This is a newer and growing problem, which requires a new solution as the gap between the median unit and median house price balloons by more than 40%.”
‘An ideological handbrake’
Skip co-founder Adam Trouncer (pictured, left) believes the impetus among hardworking Australians to save up for a 20%-plus deposit is creating “an ideological handbrake” that is creating “lifelong renters”.
“Cruelly, it’s often parents armed with only the best intentions steering their children towards antiquated deposit approaches,” said Trouncer. “High deposit approaches have created a chasm between owners and renters and defined home ownership in this country for the worse and it will only get worse if this mythical 20% mindset remains the status quo advises.
“We’re pleased to be at the vanguard for Australians who realise they can skip renting and start owning, with a smaller deposit than they might have thought.”
Co-founder Marian Emmanuel added: “The average tenant is under rental stress – shelling out a record 33 cents of every dollar they earn before tax on their rent, making it all but impossible to save.
“We’re seeing more Aussies every month Skip ahead with a smaller deposit so their wealth can grow inside a property, rather than watching their deposit get further and further diluted as property price growth outpaces savings capacity.”
