Profile
"West Oak’s success has come from always putting our clients’ best interests first and always finding ways to improve and add more value to them"
Andrew mcquiston,
west oak family office, wellington-altus private wealth
Sarah Thomson would like to see the return of the 35-year housing loan to help young buyers with their ability to service debt.
“Something like a 35-year loan term or even a 40 [year] would make that affordability so much better,” says Loan Market Geelong City’s managing director.
Thomson entered the finance industry around two decades ago and set up her own business within a few years, and remembers some banks used to offer 35-year loans.
She says that with younger buyers looking at debt-to-income ratios of around six or seven, much higher than places like Ireland or the UK, the option would be attractive given the outlook for a continued rising interest rate environment.
“People are buying homes a lot younger… a lot of our clients are in their 20s,” Thomson explains.
“We’re living for longer, we’re working for longer, but with rates increasing and the property prices, [home ownership is] pretty much out of reach for a lot of first-time buyers.”
Loan terms of 35 years are common in some countries such as Japan, which introduced the government-backed Flat 35 loan scheme nearly 20 years ago. These loans provide full-term fixed-rate mortgages to home buyers and are offered through many retail banks.
Whether this kind of loan can make a comeback Down Under remains to be seen, but Thomson is anxious that property ownership remains a viable option for young Australians.
Being able to act in a customer’s best interest and help them feel secure as they make one of the largest financial decisions of their lives is a key motivator for Thomson.
As a broker who handles loan applications daily, she says it is easy to forget the uncertainty involved for the client, but having three of her young employees purchase homes over the last year refreshed her memory.
Continuing to reassure clients throughout the pandemic and remain in contact was also a major challenge for Thomson but one she met head-on.
Staff were able to maintain engagement through the “crazy period” and Loan Market Geelong wrote more business because of that, she says.
“We’ve had so many leads and so many clients to look after.”
Thomson hopes to employ four new brokers in the upcoming months to help cater to the extra business. The company is also targeting products beyond the basics in the upcoming year.
“We’re really focusing on insurance, referrals to wealth planners or financial planners as well, making sure that our clients are well covered and actually understand everything we do have to offer, not just mortgages.”
The daily routine is slowly getting back to an even keel, and with more team face time, upskilling has become particularly important. Training will also be a future focus with a large number of younger staff at the beginning of their careers.
“We’ve got a lot of young women that work in our business, from 18 to 35, the majority of them, so [we’ll do] a lot of ongoing training and upskilling.”
Loan Market has an increasingly higher proportion of women brokers than the industry average of one in four, with the number of Loan Market female business owners growing 16% in the last year. It provides an attractive proposition for young women looking to start their financial careers. It is also a far cry from when Thomson started out 20 years ago.
“At that time there were only one or two women in the room during professional development events,” she says.
32-34 Ryrie Street Geelong 3220
03 5224 2125
sarah.thomson@loanmarket.com.au
linkedin.com/in/sarah-thomson-080b4913
broker.loanmarket.com.au/geelong-city
Sarah Thomson
Managing Director and Broker
Loan Market Geelong
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Milestones
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2021
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Year 7 Community Leader and Leader for Learning Technologies and Platforms at Northern Beaches Christian School
Master of Business Administration, 2017–2019
2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
1998
2002
2010
2021
2022
Sarah Thomson
Managing Director and Broker
Loan Market Geelong
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Milestones
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
1998
2002
2010
2021
2022
Sarah Thomson
Managing Director and Broker
Loan Market Geelong
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
2022
2021
2010
2002
1998
2022
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Has grown her team to 10 support staff and three brokers
MPA Global Top 100, No. 10 for three years running
Best Regional Office VIC, BBA
Broker of the Year, Regional AMA
2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2021
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Loan Market was recognised as No. 1 Australian Broker by …
Brokerage of the Year, Regional AMA
2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2010
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Opened the Loan Market Geelong office
2010
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2002
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Became a self-employed broker
2002
2009–2011
1998
human resources | key media
Joined the finance industry
1998
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Milestones
2022
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
2022
Excellence awardee – Independent Mortgage Adviser of the Year category at the New Zealand Mortgage Awards
2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2022
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2021
Launched his own business,
Ascend Financial Services
2022
2022
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2021
Launched his own business,
Ascend Financial Services
2022