Home loan broker Mortgage Choice lifted home loan approvals to a record $1.35 billion in March, a month that ended with the regulator capping interest-only lending.
The ASX-listed broker and financial planner said on Friday the record month helped lift home loan approvals for the three months to March 31 by four per cent to $3.3 billion.
The company received a third-quarter record 9,627 home loan enquiries.
Mortgage Choice would not be drawn on whether demand had been affected since March 31 - when the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority told lenders to limit higher risk interest-only loans to 30 per cent of new residential mortgages.
"We are well positioned to continue our strong results in Q4," a spokesperson said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics this week said the value of loans approved for investment housing lifted 0.8 per cent in March, while owner-occupied housing dropped 0.9 per cent.
The value of total housing finance rose 0.9 per cent to $33.18 billion in the month, seasonally adjusted.
Mortgage Choice has increased franchise numbers five per cent so far this financial year to 438.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's review into mortgage broker remuneration, which was published in March, reported that brokers arranged 54.3 per cent of home loans in 2015.
But Mortgage Choice shares have fallen more than 10 per cent since APRA acted amid high housing prices, high and rising household debt, subdued household income growth, and historically low interest rates.
Major banks have since flagged slowing credit demand, while UBS banking analysts Jon Mott and Rachel Bentvelzen this week said mortgage brokers earn $4,600 in commission for every home loan they write.
The UBS analysts said the cost adds 0.16 percentage points to the loan rate of every mortgage in Australia.
Mortgage Choice shares closed up one cent at $2.07.
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