Property buyers took out a record number of mortgages in February, buoyed by the interest rate cut earlier in the month.

According to the latest numbers from mortgage broking firm Australian Finance Group (AFG), a total of $4.3 billion of mortgages were sold during the month, with $280 million mortgages selling in one day alone.

AFG general manager Mark Hewitt said the February interest rate cuts made borrowers more confident.

“February is the real start to the mortgage year and overall we’re off to a flying start this year,” he said.

While record numbers were positive, the variation of mortgage volumes was something to keep an eye on.

 

South Australia showed the biggest increase of 31% in February, closely followed by New South Wales (25%), Victoria (21%) and Queensland (15%).

 

However, Western Australia showed a drop of 4% over February, highlighting the gloomy sentiment in the state.

 

Hewitt said it was important to recognise these variations.

 

“We’re also keeping a close eye on the proportion of investors, but this hasn’t changed on the levels we’ve been seeing for the past twelve months,” he said.

 

Loans to investors made up 39.6% of all home loans processed last month.