Non-bank lender Wizard Home Loans has doubled its presence in New Zealand in the past year and is currently averaging more than $80 million a month in applications and settling about half that, says John Grant, who heads the New Zealand arm of the Australia-based company.
From its launch three years ago with one branch in Auckland, the company now has 18 branches across the country and is planning to open at least another six in the next six months, Grant says.
The 19th branch will open in Henderson and a further two in Auckland, including the first in the city itself, are planned to open in January. All the branches are owner-operated.
"Wizard’s success is based upon having an entrepreneurial spirit and having people who are prepared to work very hard," Grant says.
Wizard chairman Mark Bouris, who founded the company in 1996, has been quoted as calling Wizard people "hungry mongrels," he says.
"We’ve also been lucky with the timing of things. The market’s been extremely buoyant." Also helping the company’s growth has been its support of Auckland rubgy. Auckland teams have won both the Ranfurly Shield and the NPC trophy this year.
Wizard is finding particular success in providing specialist loans to the self-employed, particularly those without complete financial records who would have trouble getting a loan from traditional sources, he says. "We will lend on income declarations and they pay a slight premium."
Grant doesn’t think the Auckland housing market is over-heated. "If you benchmark it internationally, the pricing is still particularly attractive. The rental returns you can obtain on properties are still high by international standards," he says.
Wizard sources its funds from mortgage wholesaler Australian Mortgage Securities which has four equal shareholders, Wizard itself, Bouris, Kerry Packer’s Pubishing & Broadcasting, and Deutsche Asset Management.
