The credit crunch and its associated evils have crippled many in the industry, but the brave brokers on this list not only survived – they have thrived! MPA would like to applaud this year's Top 100...
2008 was the Mount Everest of MPA Top 100 lists. Every year brokers clamour to reach the top, but no other year has been as challenging as this one. Rising interest rates, increased competition from banks, and the dreaded commission cuts have avalanched the industry and been the downfall of many brokers.
While many are finding it difficult to survive, the brokers on this year's Top 100 list prove that it is still possible to excel. Despite expectations that the credit crunch would reduce the number of entries into this year's competition, MPA actually received more submissions than ever before. And it appears brokers have lifted their game. In 2007, the 100th placed broker recorded $35,241,000 in total home loan settlements. This year, the 100th placed broker settled $41,229,446.
At the other end of the spectrum, top broker Colin Lamb settled $145,590,493 -slightly under last year's winner who recorded $163,358,597. Sixty percent of the brokers on this year's list made upwards of $50m.
Each submission was scrupulously checked and verified with aggregators, lenders and franchisors. The numbers were sliced, diced and examined through several different lenses, so that we could gain insight into what commonalities these brokers share and what makes them unique.
To this end we learned that the greatest numbers of brokers on the list are from WA - 26 to be exact. This year there were 21 brokers from Qld and 22 from NSW, while NT produced two brokers for the second year in a row (and one of them is a new entrant). The number of brokers from ACT, SA and Vic was up from last year's figures.
We also broke down the Top 100 brokers by aggregator. For the second year in a row, brokers affiliated with AFG made a strong showing in the list, although if you combined members of Choice, PLAN and FAST, the number of brokers congregated under the Challenger banner prevailed.
The number of female brokers was slightly down from 16 last year to 15 this year. But they made their presence known in the top 10 - with Lisa Sanders, Wendy Higgins and Michelle Coleman capturing second, third and ninth respectively.
Interestingly, the number of "new breed" brokers (brokers with three years or less experience) has shrunk this year from 20 in 2007 to seven.
It may have been a tumultuous year, but the brokers on our list have proven that they are taking back market share. The total settlement volume for all 100 brokers is over $6bn.
Congratulations to all the brokers who submitted an entry this year and best of luck in the coming months.
Rules of the game
For the uninitiated, the rules for the MPA Top 100 broker list are simple: brokers must be accredited, loans must have been settled within 2007/08 financial year, all loans must be residential, and have been originated solely by the broker (back-office support is acceptable).
All entries were verified with aggregators, lenders and franchisors. In cases where a discrepancy arose, MPA only used figures verified by brokers' aggregators.
This year's No.1 Broker:
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Colin Lamb
Company: Mortgage Solutions Australia
City/state: Perth, WA
$amount settled: $ 145,590,493
No. of support staff: 2
Years as broker: 7
Colin Lamb has a simple and effective way of dealing with clients.
"Tell the truth. You'll never worry about what you've said to people if you always tell the truth."
Lamb is a newcomer to the MPA Top 100 list, but an old-hand at broking. He got his start as a loan writer working for a major bank, but after 10 years felt he'd reached his potential. When the opportunity to set up a new business presented itself seven years ago, he jumped at the chance.
Mortgage Solutions Australia has a strategic relationship with one of the largest real estate networks in WA, but Lamb doesn't rely solely on the network for referrals.
"That's where I get a lot of business from, but having been in finance now for many years now; a lot of my business comes from external real estate agents as well as clients. So there's not one specific area that I'm reliant on for referrals."
Lamb works with a diverse client base - from investors to first-home buyers, "because there's always one market that's going gangbusters".
He also purchased a commercial business 10 months ago to add value to his existing clients.
"A lot of my clients are becoming more sophisticated and they're adding commercial properties to their investments. But rather than me get bogged down doing that, I introduce them to our commercial side. That also helps with our client retention. Often when a client comes in for a commercial deal, a lot of brokers just put their hands up and say 'oh no that's too hard' and they lose control of their whole book."
But Lamb is not afraid to handle difficult deals. Clients often come to Lamb after other brokers have looked at their deal and deemed it too big or too hard. Lamb says those brokers are just not aware of what can be done.
"A lot of these deals go through mainstream banks. We don't do a lot of, if any non-conforming at the moment. So traditionally we've been going through the larger banks and just presenting the deal in a way that will be approved.
"I will push the boundaries for my clients. And I think that's what clients notice."
For the complete Top 100 list e-mail - [email protected]
