A staff reporter from the Advisor recently wrote nearly one in three new borrowers locked in fixed rates on their loans during March, new data has revealed.

According to AFG’s latest Mortgage Index, 29.6 per cent of all new home loans were fixed – a leap from 24.1 per cent in February and 16.3 per cent in January.

This is the highest proportion of fixed rate loans the company has seen in the 10 years it has been compiling the Mortgage Index.

The company recorded its best sales month ever for March, processing 3.1 billion of home loans – 8.6 per cent higher than in March 2012.

AFG’s general manager of sales and operations Mark Hewitt said it was unsurprising to see so many borrowers locking in their rates as the lenders are currently being very competitive in this space.

“We have seen an unprecedented surge of borrowers wanting to lock in rates. With many commentators believing the interest rate cycle is at the bottom, borrowers have responded by fixing rates of less than 5 per cent that have been widely on offer,” he said.

To discuss this topic, John Whitten can be contacted on 0749722081 or 0410433919. You can also email him at jwhitten@ihl.net.au or look him up on the net www.ihl.net.au. John Whitten is a credit representative (CRN 399796) of BLASSA Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence No 391237).