Australian non-bank lender Sucasa has officially rebranded to Skip, unveiling data that challenges the industry’s "first-home buyer bias" and highlights an untapped market for mortgage brokers.
While policy levers remain calibrated for first-time owners, Skip’s internal data shows that seven in ten of its 2% deposit, no-LMI loans are going to "second-chance" owners. A group which includes young families, upsizers, divorcees, ambitious young singles and first generation Australians who have previously owned property but are now trapped in the rental cycle and fast becoming second class citizens.
The rebrand comes as Skip reports triple-digit year-on-year growth via broker and direct channels. Skip attributes a substantial part of this success to millions of hardworking but "forgotten Aussies" who are ineligible for the Federal Government’s 5% Home Guarantee Scheme but who possess the servicing capacity to bypass the traditional 20% deposit hurdle.
“The industry’s obsession with first-home buyers is creating a pool of ignored Australians,” says Skip co-founder Mario Emmanuel. “Many have outgrown their current footprint but find it impossible to save for a transition deposit as the gap between median unit and house prices has ballooned to 40%.”
Despite a low barrier to entry, Skip believes the attributes within this diverse cohort of borrowers, already accustomed to rental payments, make the transition to mortgage servicing seamless.
To support the broker network, Skip has announced a technological integration with Quickli. From February, Skip’s 2% deposit products will be surfaced to Quickli’s 13,000 subscribers, allowing brokers to instantly identify scenarios where clients can "skip" the rental trap.
“The 20% deposit is an ideological handbrake,” says Skip co-founder Adam Trouncer. “We’re giving brokers a way to help clients start building equity now, rather than watching their savings be diluted by property price growth and a rental market where costs have spiked 40% in five years.”
Skip’s latest quarterly data shows Brisbane has overtaken Sydney as the second-most active market, accounting for 27% of all closed loans, while Melbourne remains the primary driver of volume
