If there was one way to characterise the mortgage market this year, it would be that it is seemingly in a constant state of change.

The banks are either being regulated by the Reserve Bank, or they are self-regulating and turning the tap off, or at least slowing down the flow of loans. This creates opportunities for brokers to provide solutions for borrowers with products that are still available with lenders outside of the main banks.

RESIMAC has recently launched a new direct channel, and in this article the firm's general manager, Adrienne Church, answers the most common questions she is getting about the move.

The reality is that its helping build brand awareness of the company and it is reaching parts of the market which brokers don't service. If you look at it another way it's a bit like what BNZ finally realised. By not using brokers for more than a decade it realised that it was missing out on reaching parts of the market its branches and mobile managers weren't serving.

Going direct is complimentary to third party distribution and other non-bank lenders already do it - think of FMT's television ads.

While we had more change with the Reserve Bank dropping the official cash rate to a historical low of 1.75%, it was good to see that debt-to-income restrictions are not on the cards yet.

- Philip Macalister