Revealed: The Aussie suburbs where rent prices are skyrocketing

Australia’s rental market continues to tighten, with several suburbs recording double-digit rent price growth in just three months, further exacerbating housing and cost-of-living pressures.

Latest PropTrack rental figures reveal a recalibration in the market, but affordability challenges persist as vacancy rates remain historically low.

Units in Lake Illawarra, NSW, topped the list with weekly rents soaring by 15.1 per cent between May and August, reaching $420 per week.

It represents a weekly rent increase of $55 a week or $220 a month.

Meanwhile, rentals in Iluka and Millars Well, both in Western Australia, jumped by 14.3 per cent over the same period, up to $1200 a week.

In Sydney’s affluent Woollahra, rents climbed 12.1 per cent, from $1650 to $1850 per week.

Other suburbs experiencing double-digit growth include Gloucester and Kahibah in NSW, Alexandra Headland and Clifton Beach in Queensland, Oaklands Park in South Australia, Berriedale in Tasmania, and Elwood in Victoria.

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REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh noted that while rental price growth has eased, rents remain elevated after years of record increases.

“There’s a recalibration in the rental market. Vacancies still remain low by historical standards but rental price growth has eased significantly, although rents are elevated after years of record growth,” she said.

AUS SUBURBS WITH DOUBLE DIGIT RENT PRICE GROWTH

Supplied Real Estate Source: PropTrack

Source: PropTrack

Ms Creagh highlighted that Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne are seeing a cooling in momentum, with tenants trading space for location and price.

However, she warned that Perth and Adelaide remain Australia’s toughest rental markets, with vacancy rates below 1 per cent – conditions she described as “emergency levels.”

“Without a bigger supply response, it’s not likely that we’ll see rents moving backwards,” she added, pointing to the ongoing supply-demand imbalance.

While the pace of rental growth has slowed in some cities, affordability remains a critical issue.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh.

Ms Creagh observed that household budgets are stretched, and tenants are making rational adjustments to cope with rising rents.

The question of whether rents will ever decrease remains uncertain, with supply shortages continuing to drive upward pressure.

Broader implications

The double-digit growth in rents is symptomatic of a broader housing crisis.

Persistently low vacancy rates, coupled with strong population growth and limited new housing supply, have created a perfect storm.

Only this week, a new report card released by the National Association of Renters’ Organisations and National Shelter shows that, two years after National Cabinet promised a “Better Deal for Renters,” most governments have failed to deliver meaningful reforms. Millions of renters are still exposed to unfair rent hikes, arbitrary evictions and unsafe homes. For the one-third of Australians who rent, basic rights and housing stability are still dictated by postcode.

“The rental experience in Australia shouldn’t differ depending on what side of the Murray or Tweed you are renting on,” National Shelter spokesman John Engeler said.

“The experience of renting should be consistent across all states and territories, especially as Australia’s renting population increases.

“We call on the Federal Government to provide leadership to harmonise rental regulations across Australia to ensure that renters have access to similar levels of security and stability as homeowners.”

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Rent rollercoaster: $100 hikes in hotspots as broader market cools

PropTrack economist Eleanor Creagh says rents have cooled in some areas, but remain hot in others

Tenants in a swathe of suburbs across the state were paying more than $100 extra a week to rent a home than last year, with vacancy rates remaining stubbornly low, latest rent price data reveals.

PropTrack’s latest quarterly rental index shows price pressure easing across Brisbane, while some coastal markets recorded year-on-year increases of up to 27 per cent, topping out at an additional $305 for a house in ritzy Sunshine Beach on the Sunshine Coast.

Another dozen Queensland suburbs recorded annual rent increases of $100 a week or more, including the Gold Coast suburbs of Surfers Paradise (+$275), Burleigh Heads (+$200) and Burleigh Waters ($150).

Riverfront Bulimba was Brisbane’s strongest performer, with rent up 17 per cent or $175 to a median $1,200.

The rental market has ‘recalibrated’, Ms Creagh said

PropTrack economist Eleanor Creagh said the rental market had “recalibrated” as tenants were pushed to the brink of affordability.

“Vacancies still remain low by historical standards but rental price growth has eased significantly, although rents are elevated after years of record growth,” Ms Creagh said.

“We’re not seeing a retreat in rental price pressure but certainly an easing.

“It looks like momentum has cooled a little bit in Sydney and Brisbane.”

She said the unit market was leading for most capital city markets, “probably a sign that tenants are trading space for location and price, which seems a rational response when we know that household budgets are stretched and rents have increased significantly in recent years.”

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Ms Mercorella said the rental market was severely undersupplied. Picture: Liam Kidston

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said the state’s rental market remained “severely undersupplied”, despite stabilising prices in many areas.

“This rental squeeze, while not worsening, is continuing to make a strong case for more investors and more rental accommodation to meet demand,” Ms Mercorella said, referencing rental vacancy rates remaining around 1 per cent.

It comes as the Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) warned of mounting pressure as a record number of investors sell up, driven by rising costs, legislative uncertainty, and concerns over proposed federal tax reforms.

This apartment in Burleigh Heads’ Mondrian residences is up for rent at $5,500 a week

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PIPA’s annual survey found 35.5 per cent of investors had sold at least one property in Queensland — the highest rate of all the states, and an increase of 2 per cent from last year.

“We’re seeing a growing number of long-term investors walking away, and the implications for renters are severe,” PIPA chair Lachlan Vidler said.

“The private rental market is losing stock at a time when demand is surging, and policy uncertainty is only making things worse.”

Property Investment Professionals of Australia chair Lachlan Vidler. Picture: Supplied.

Property Investment Professionals of Australia chair Lachlan Vidler. Picture: Supplied.

The national survey found only 42 per cent of sold properties remained in the rental pool, while 37 per cent were snapped up by owner-occupiers and 25 per cent by first-home buyers.

“The shift is structural, not temporary,” Mr Vidler said.

“Once a property leaves the rental market, it rarely returns.

“We’re watching the slow dismantling of Australia’s rental supply, and tenants are paying the price through rising rents and reduced availability.”

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Pulte announces FHFA’s termination of equitable housing committee

On Tuesday, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte took to X to announce the agency’s termination of the advisory committee on affordable, equitable and sustainable housing, also known as ACAESH.

“Effective Immediately, U.S. Federal Housing is TERMINATING Biden’s ‘racial equality committee’ which was dishonestly labeled ‘Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing.’ We are, instead, focused on the safety of the market and restoring the American Dream!” the post read.

ACAESH was formed in September 2022 during the Biden administration, according to a charter found on FHFA’s website. The charter outlined that the committee would advise the FHFA on how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks can better support affordable, fair and sustainable housing, including identifying needs, barriers and potential policy changes.

In June 2024, FHFA named the inaugural members of the committee after it went through an application solicitation process in September 2023. The members reported directly to then-FHFA Director Sandra Thompson and each was expected to serve a two-year term.

Tuesday’s announcement comes after Pulte’s post last week on X that the FHFA is withdrawing from the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a coalition that promotes green finance and climate change solutions.

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Compass’s Anywhere deal raises questions about industry power shifts

For Anywhere Real Estate, news of its acquisition by Compass, generated quite a bit of interest in its stock, thanks to the excitement of what this deal means for the future of the company. 

The real estate conglomerate saw its stock price rise from $7 at close of market on Friday to over $11 at 9:30 Monday morning. As of midday Tuesday, Anywhere’s stock was trading for roughly $10.31 per share.

In contrast, Compass’s stock fell from $9.40 at close of market on Friday to a low of $7.76 late morning on Tuesday. According to experts, the drop in Compass’s stock price is primarily due to it assuming roughly $2.6 billion in debt as part of the acquisition. 

Although the drop in stock price is not good news for investors, Ryan Tomasello, the managing director of Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods (KBW), sees reasons to be excited about this all-stock deal. 

“I think Anywhere’s willingness to accept consideration in the form of 100% stock is a vote of confidence in the belief that this will be a successful deal for Compass and allow them to drive attractive returns in their share price, based on various components of their strategy,” Tomasello said.  

The math tells the story

While the future of the housing market still remains uncertain, analysts agree that the deal gives Compass a lot of leverage, which may enable it to create more favorable conditions as it looks to offset some of the debt it has acquired. 

Wall Street investors see plenty to like in Compass’s all-stock acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate. As Steve Murray, senior advisor to HousingWire and founder of real estate consulting firm RTC Consulting, explained, the math tells the story.

“I just did an analysis last week of the eight large national publicly held real estate enterprises and looked at their forecasted cash flows for this year against their current market cap,” he said. “It’s interesting to note that Anywhere was the lowest price…3.2 times projected 2025 cash flow.”

For context, he pointed out, “the next one is RE/MAX trading at six. Still, relative to all the others, the median of the eight was like 17. Compass was on Friday about 19.6.”

That spread between Compass and Anywhere set up what Murray calls an “ideal” scenario: “They’re trading a stock price that was trading at 19 times cash flow and buying the shares of a company trading at 3.2.”

In other words, Compass used a high-multiple stock to scoop up a low-multiple competitor. “The price they paid moved it up to six because it was about double what the price was last Friday for Anywhere, which is a very good premium,” Murray added.

How will Compass leverage its scale for a private listing network?

“Something the MLSs and any other existing stronghold in the industry has to consider is the extent to which Compass decides to leverage their new scale to influence structural change in the industry or resist change that it doesn’t agree with,” Tomasello said. 

Additionally, Tomasello noted that barring any massive departures from Anywhere or Anywhere affiliated franchises, Compass has also added a meaningful number of agents who are heavily involved in the MLSs, as well as Realtors associations on the state, local and national levels. 

“I don’t see this as a positive for anyone betting on the MLS continuing to maintain or increase its dominance over the industry,” Tomasello said. 

Much of his belief in this can be attributed to Compass’s push to become a hub for real estate listings, as it looks to grow its stable of private exclusive listings. These listings are only available on Compass’s website and not on the MLS or sites powered by MLS data feeds. 

“Compass’s off-MLS marketing strategy now has the potential to be three times larger, and I think that is going to force other industry participants who have historically been against private listings to revisit that idea,” Tomasello said. 

It’s important to note that Anywhere has a substantial number of franchises and those operate independently and can’t be compelled to implement Compass’s off-market strategy. However, they may choose to do so.

With the threat of even more listings being withheld from the MLS, both Tomasello and Ramirez believe other brokerages, both those privately and publicly held, will be taking a hard look at their game plan. 

“Everyone woke up on Monday and saw their biggest competitor had just tripled in size, so I think the natural question is, how will these brokerages respond in terms of looking at ways in which they can also participate in consolidation,” Tomasello said. 

Murray agrees with this.

“If I am a small or medium-size broker I’m definitely having some internal conversations and trying to figure out how I want to handle this, but I know I probably need to at least create some kind of network,” Murray said. 

While analysts and shareholders may have their own expectations of what is to come, Tomasello says to keep in mind that assuming this deal closes, the real estate industry will find itself in uncharted territory. 

“This will create a unique dynamic in the brokerage industry that I don’t believe has ever really existed before, where you have a player in as dominant of a position with the type of market share that Compass would have, at least on a pro forma basis,” Tomasello said. “The brokerages have always held power in the industry, but especially with a brokerage as outspoken and trailblazing as Compass, the influence they will now have over NAR and the MLS system should not be overlooked.” 

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VA awards $84 M in grants to support homeless veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Tuesday that it will distribute $84 million in grants to 176 organizations nationwide to help veterans who are homeless or at risk of losing housing.

About $42 million will go toward legal aid — with the remaining half supporting case managers who work directly with veterans to keep them in stable housing.

“No one who served our nation in uniform should go without shelter,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said. “These grants will provide crucial support and services to help thousands of Veterans on their journey back to self-sufficiency.”

Legal services will be provided through the VA’s Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness program.

Veterans may receive help with landlord-tenant disputes, court proceedings involving child support or custody, estate planning and securing benefits, or defending against criminal cases such as warrants, fines or driver’s license revocations.

Case management funds will be distributed through the VA’s Grant and Per Diem program. The money will support about 100 case manager positions to assist with housing searches, conduct home visits to monitor stability and connect veterans with educational opportunities and other support services.

Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness can contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 or visit the VA’s Homeless Programs website for more information.

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Highton homeowner’s $30k auction boost after makeover

A four-bedroom house at 7 Dunsmore Rd, Highton, sold for $829,000 at auction.

Highton homeowners who gave their home of 32 years a complete once-over before going to market will walk away after pocketing a $30,000 auction bonus.

Their four-bedroom residence at 7 Dunsmore Rd sold for $829,000 as three bidders raised a hand for the 699sq m property at Saturday’s auction.

Buxton Highton agent Anthony Greco said the owners had completed a cosmetic makeover of their brick veneer home before putting it up for sale.

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He said that work contributed to the over-the-odds sale price.

“We had 78 people took for the campaign, which was awesome to the owner,” Mr Greco said.

“We probably had six, maybe seven registered bidders on the day and only got three bidders.

“We were quoting $740,000 to $790,000 and the vendors had a realistic reserve so it was on the market really early on as well.”

Mr Greco said the market approved of the turnkey nature of the home the owners paid $127,000 for in 1993.

Crisp white interiors include new carpet, blinds and paint.

“It was just a good family home, you know turnkey, nothing to do but then you’ve got the potential down the track to renovate.

“It’s pretty attractive for that young, first-home buyer market as well as with the people with a couple of kids. That was a lot of the feedback that I got through the campaign.”

Mr Greco said young professional buyers secured their first home at the auction.

The house is close to Porter Ave shops and offered an inviting prospect with crisp white interiors, modern finishes and large paved outdoor space looking over the deep backyard.

The kitchen has stone benchtops, quality appliances including a 600mm wall oven, gas cooktop and a dishwasher.

“The people who owned the house had been there for over 30 years,” he said.

“Over the past six to 12 months they just gave it a bit of a cosmetic update – new carpets, new blinds, new paint and it makes that difference in what buyers are looking for.

“They love walking in to a property where they go, ‘you don’t need to do anything’.

And structural-wise it was perfect as well.

The bathrooms feature floor to ceiling tiles.

“That was the part of the market where people are happy to stretch a little bit further to get that product because you don’t need to do anything.”

The sale came at an opportune time, as improved confidence after a third interest rate cut in 2025 has driven more buyers into the market.

Highton has a median house price of $885,000, according to PropTrack data which reveals a 5.2 per cent increase in the past three months.

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NAR faces new Whittman antitrust suit over membership structure

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) may have been dismissed from two lawsuits related to its three-way membership agreement, but that didn’t stop William Whittman from filing his own suit on Friday.

Whittman, who is a licensed broker in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia, is suing NAR, Virginia Realtors, Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, Maryland Realtors and the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors, claiming that the three-way membership agreement structure has caused him to suffer millions of dollars in damages. The plaintiff claims that the membership structure constitutes a “nationwide cartel structure that extracts fees at every level,” and that it creates “unlawful restraints of trade, exclusionary practices and fee structures.”

In the complaint, Whittman refers to the Realtor association defendants as “predatory,” and an “infestation,” as well as “cancerous growths feeding on Realtors.”

“Defendants are nothing more than private corporations that have entrenched themselves as gatekeepers, constructing a tri-layered paywall of local, state and national dues forcibly extracted to unlock MLS, lockboxes and standard forms,” the complaint states.

Whittman, who is representing himself pro se, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Maryland. 

According to the filing, the only reason brokers join the associations is to gain access to the MLS, lockboxes and standardized forms. 

In the complaint Whittman argues that the Realtor association membership dues structure hampered his firm’s ability to expand. According to Whittman, agents left his firm Proplocate Realty as they needed to pay separate membership dues in each of the jurisdictions his firm served. Additionally, he claims that without these allegedly anticompetitive restraints, his firm would have expanded nationwide by now. 

Whittman is asking for damages and injunctive relief preventing the Realtor associations from enforcing three-way membership. 

In an emailed statement, a NAR spokesperson wrote that NAR membership is optional.

“Similar to other national membership organizations, NAR’s integrated structure at the national, state and local level is fundamental to the value we deliver to members. It provides members with a unified voice on policy issues at all levels of government, a uniform Code of Ethics, and valuable tools and professional development opportunities that help members serve homebuyers and sellers alike,” the spokesperson wrote. “Over the summer two separate courts ruled against similar challenges and we will similarly respond to these allegations in Court.”

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Smartfi Home Loans shutters retail division

San Diego-based Smartfi Home Loans, a top 15 U.S. reverse mortgage lender, recently made the decision to close its retail division and place an “exclusive focus” on its wholesale channel, the company confirmed Tuesday with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily.

The move was officially announced Sept. 15 and ends a short stint for the company’s retail division, which was formed in mid-2024. At that time, Smartfi hired former Finance of America executive Paul Fiore as its president of retail sales.

“Effective immediately, Smartfi will cease activities on its retail origination channel and exclusively concentrate on its wholesale business,” a company press release stated. “This decision underscores Smartfi’s continual commitment to their wholesale partners. The reallocation of resources will provide enhanced value, operational excellence, and superior service to partners of Smartfi Home Loans.”

“We are excited to devote our complete attention to supporting our wholesale partners,” a Smartfi spokesperson said in the release. “Our wholesale network has long been the foundation of our organization, and by consolidating our focus, we can deliver even better products, services, and support to each and every partner.”

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) data compiled by New View Advisors confirmed that the bulk of Smartfi’s business is in the wholesale channel.

During the year ending in August 2025, Smartfi endorsed 350 HECM loans, the 13th-largest total among all companies and good for a market share of 1.2%. New View noted that for the year ending in June 2025, the company’s wholesale channel did 307 loans.

While it wasn’t immediately clear how many employees were impacted by the decision, Fiore posted last week on LinkedIn that he was no longer with Smartfi.

“I have always lived my life with the belief that everything truly does happen for a reason. While today was a hard day for me, I truly appreciate and respect all of the people who came to work with me,” Fiore wrote.

“While our time together was shorter than I had hoped, we accomplished some great things as a team. I look forward to seeing all of those who I had the pleasure to work with, thrive in the future. … Moving forward with grace and gratitude for the road ahead.”

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Compass-Anywhere deal brings $9B mortgage JVs under one roof

If Compass’s proposed acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate moves forward, the companies will jointly oversee a $9 billion-per-year mortgage operation in partnership with Rate — enough to make them the 26th-largest U.S. originator in the first half of 2025.

On Monday, Compass and Anywhere announced a definitive all-stock merger agreement that values Anywhere at $10 billion. The deal brings together 340,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and 120 countries while expanding ancillary services in title and escrow.

On the mortgage side, the tie-up aligns similar joint ventures. In 2017, Anywhere (formerly Realogy) and Rate launched Guaranteed Rate Affinity (GRA), replacing Anywhere’s previous partnership with PHH Mortgage Corp. (now part of Onity Group). 

In 2021, Rate also partnered directly with Compass to create OriginPoint. And a year earlier, it launched Proper Rate with @properties, which later became part of Compass through its acquisition of Christie’s International Real Estate.

Rate typically holds a 50.1% majority stake in these ventures.  A Rate spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to HousingWire‘s request for comment.

Industry leaders see the Compass–Anywhere merger as simplifying the mortgage side of the business.

“With Guaranteed Rate being the mortgage JV provider for both Compass and Anywhere, we expect a seamless integration in our mortgage offering,” Compass founder, chairman and CEO Robert Reffkin told analysts.

By volume, GRA is the larger platform, originating $5.8 billion in the past 12 months, compared with $2.88 billion at OriginPoint and $340 million at Proper Rate (folded into Compass post-acquisition), according to Modex data. Sources told HousingWire there is a natural path to keep the GRA brand nationwide.

GRA has 443 sponsored loan officers across 229 branches, while OriginPoint has 179 LOs in 29 branches, according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. Many LOs are co-located within brokerage offices to support both affiliated and non-affiliated transactions. 

“The transaction will allow us to quickly consolidate our mortgage JVs, providing a higher attach opportunity with a wider footprint of loan officers across the country, while at the same time providing for expense synergies as we consolidate the mortgage entities,” said Scott Wahlers, chief financial officer at Compass.  

Geographically, the merger is complementary. OriginPoint is heavily concentrated in California (40% of its production), while GRA also has a strong California presence (20%) even as the bulk of its business is national, according to Modex. 

“This transaction adds meaningfully to our ancillary services offering as it gives us an immediate presence in 30-plus service areas in title and escrow and mortgage operations in all of our key markets,” Reffkin added. 

Beyond origination volume, the JVs also impact earnings. Anywhere held a $55 million investment balance in GRA as of June 30, 2025. It received $11 million in dividends during the first half of 2025, although it reported a $1 million equity loss compared to a $2 million gain in the same period last year. 

Compass, meanwhile, reported $2.5 million in equity income from unconsolidated entities in the first half of 2025 — an improvement from a $1.2 million loss a year earlier — driven largely by OriginPoint earnings.

“By adding over $1 billion in revenue from ancillary services such as title, escrow and relocation services as well as franchise revenue, we will be able to diversify our revenue mix with higher margin and more recurring revenue streams,” Reffkin told analysts. “This diversification will make our free cash flow profile more resilient through market cycles.” 

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Mortgage compliance challenges affect 60% of lenders

Amid a new administration and new lending rules entering the arena, 60% of organizations say they are struggling to keep systems aligned with evolving federal and state rules.

That’s according to new survey findings from Carleton, a provider of compliant loan calculation and disclosure solutions. The company evaluated the extent to which lenders face ongoing compliance risks, loan calculation inaccuracies and regulatory change management challenges.

A survey of more than 2,000 lending, banking, auto finance and fintech professionals — including mortgage technology providers, originators, banks and credit unions — found that two-thirds of organizations face loan payment discrepancies on at least a monthly basis — often due to miscalculated fees, interest rate errors or data entry mistakes.

Nearly half of respondents said compliance problems like inaccurate APRs or outdated disclosures had already led to rework, audit issues or legal risk, while 44% reported low confidence in their current systems.

“There was really, really poor confidence in everybody’s existing systems to actually do things the right way, which is shocking,” Tim Yalich, vice president of business development at Carleton, said in an interview with HousingWire. “There clearly is a tremendous amount of struggle to manage change.”

Across all respondents, regulatory change management remains a major challenge, with only one-third reporting that they can adapt within a month. Nearly one-quarter take three months or more, citing complex regulations, loan calculation updates and vendor coordination as top hurdles.

Complex loan structures add to the strain as 31% said tiered rates and variable payments cause frequent errors and delays. Another 17% called them a constant problem while only 14% felt their tools handle these scenarios well.

Compliance updates also drain efficiency. Over one-quarter require cross-functional coordination, while respondents named compliance risk (26%), deal delays (25%) and regulatory complexity (19%) as their top frustrations. Manual paperwork and a persistent reliance on spreadsheets were also flagged as productivity and compliance risks.

“I was blown away by how much manual work and the reliance on spreadsheets is out there to do computations,” Yalich said, adding that he’s concerned about the high frequency of errors and the prevalence of manual processes in the lending and compliance industries.

“This survey shines a light on just how much effort lenders continue to put into getting calculations and disclosures right,” Yalich said in the company’s press release. “When confidence in systems is low and errors remain frequent, it signals a broader industry problem — one that demands better integration, automation, and proactive compliance monitoring.”

Singling out the mortgage data

Of the survey respondents, 11.8% were from an organization representing loan management system (LMS) vendors, 11.3% represented loan origination system (LOS) vendors and 11.8% represented mortgage originators.

When parsing out the mortgage participants in the survey, the trend remains the same: regulatory churn is top of mind and disruptive. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they face regulatory changes “frequently (monthly or more),” and 72% said their organizations struggle to keep up with regulatory change management for internal tools.

That pressure translates into lengthy implementation timelines. About 35% said implementing new compliance requirements takes one to three months, while 29% reported it takes three to six months.

Calculation errors and compliance fallout are also common. Nearly two‑thirds (64%) said compliance‑related issues have led to rework, legal exposure, audit findings or customer complaints either regularly or occasionally.

As a result, 39% reported encountering discrepancies in loan payment calculations multiple times per week, and another 31% said they encounter them weekly.

Respondents pointed to miscalculation of fees (26.7%), software or calculator issues (25.3%), and incorrect interest rate or APR applications (20%) as the most common causes of calculation errors.

To mitigate risk, 51% said they are “very interested” in a third‑party centralized API loan calculation engine; when combined with other positive responses, the majority expressed interest in such services. Likewise, 78% indicated they are likely or very likely to consider a third‑party document generation solution to accompany calculation tools.

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