AFG has bolted a bridging loan onto its white-label range, launching AFG Home Loans Bridge with fintech lender Bridgit. Australian Broker reported the product rolls out nationally through AFG's broker network of more than 4,000 members.
The pitch is the familiar timing problem: you've found the next property but haven't sold the current one. Bridging finance covers the gap. AFG points to its own lodgement data, where upgraders made up a record 44% of lodgements over the June quarter, to justify the timing.
What it changes for a borrower
This is a residential product, aimed at upsizers, downsizers, retirees, and people accessing equity between homes. For most commercial borrowers it won't be directly relevant, but the mechanics are worth watching, because bridging structures show up on the commercial side too when a business owner is moving between premises or waiting on a settlement to fund the next purchase.
The headline feature is speed of assessment. Bridgit builds its case on "buy now, sell later" processing, with faster assessment, approval and settlement than a standard application. That speed is the whole point of bridging finance and also where the cost usually sits: bridging arrangements typically carry higher rates and shorter terms than a plain term loan, because the lender is pricing the gap and the exit.
No rates were published in the announcement, so there's nothing here to compare against on price. What's genuinely new is distribution. Bridgit's digital-first model now sits inside one of the country's largest aggregator networks, which means more brokers can quote a bridging option without going off-panel.
One more thing worth flagging: bridging loans depend on the existing property selling. If it sells slowly, or for less than expected, the maths shifts. The convenience of buying first is real, and so is the cost of carrying two debts while you wait.
General information only.