Mortgage Broker Redfern

Soren Financial has a broker office at 617 Elizabeth Street, Redfern, staffed during normal business hours. We compare more than 50 residential lenders, we are rated 4.9 out of 5 from 106 client reviews, and for standard home loans the lender pays us, not you.

If you are buying, refinancing or investing anywhere around Redfern, Surry Hills, Alexandria, Waterloo, Zetland or Erskineville, this is the office that handles it.

Find my loan match Call 1300 899 819

What we do from the Redfern office

The same work we do everywhere else, with people who know the area. First home purchases, upgrades, refinances, investment lending, and the more awkward files that banks tend to hand back — self-employed income, a short trading history, or a property the lender is nervous about.

What we do not do is send you a rate and leave you to it. Before anyone names a lender, we want to know how long you plan to hold the place, whether there is a second purchase coming, and what your income looks like on paper, not what it feels like. Two lenders can look at the same payslips and land six figures apart on what they will lend you.

Buying around Redfern is not like buying in the outer suburbs

Three things come up constantly on files in this pocket of Sydney, and none of them are about money. They are all lender policy.

Small apartments. A lot of stock around Redfern, Waterloo and Zetland is one-bedroom or studio, and plenty of it sits under the internal floor area some lenders insist on. Below roughly 50 square metres your list of lenders shortens; below 40 it shortens sharply, and the ones left may want a bigger deposit. Find that out before you bid, not after.

High-density postcodes. Some lenders cap how much of any one building they will hold, and cap the loan-to-value ratio in postcodes carrying a lot of new apartment supply. The same borrower, the same income, a different building, and the answer changes.

Terraces and heritage. Redfern and Darlington are full of narrow Victorian terraces, some in conservation areas, some part-renovated, some with work done without approval. That affects the valuation and occasionally whether the lender will take the security at all. If you are buying one with plans to renovate, the structure of the loan matters as much as the rate.

What the Redfern market is actually doing right now

Here is what the suburb is actually selling for. These are the latest figures, and the gap between houses and apartments is the bit to pay attention to.

Redfern (postcode 2016) medians for the 12 months to May 2026, from Your Investment Property suburb data. Sydney-wide auction clearance from Domain. Domain’s bedroom-level medians over the last 12 months put two-bedroom houses at $1.765m, three-bedroom houses at $2.2m, one-bedroom units at $770,000 and two-bedroom units at $1.2m. Market data on this page last checked 9 August 2026.

Houses up, apartments down, and why your lender cares

Redfern houses gained more than 20% in a year while apartments went backwards by about 4.6%, with most of that fall in the most recent quarter. Same street, two completely different markets.

That changes how you should approach the loan. If you are buying a unit, the valuation is the risk to plan for: when the last quarter has gone backwards, a valuation landing under your contract price is a real possibility, and the shortfall comes out of your deposit, not the bank’s. And if you are refinancing a unit you bought in the past couple of years, do not assume the equity is there yet. We can order an upfront valuation with some lenders before you commit.

Auctions are not what they were in 2025

Sydney’s auction clearance rate was 50% in the week to 8 August 2026, from 520 scheduled auctions, against 71% in the same week a year earlier. Within Redfern itself, Domain’s recent figures have houses clearing in the high 50s to low 70s, and units clearing better than houses.

If you are buying, a softer clearance rate is not bad news. More properties passing in means more room to negotiate after auction day, and a solid pre-approval counts for more than it did a year ago, because you can move on a passed-in property while other buyers are still waiting on their bank.

Redfern is a renter’s suburb, and that shapes the lending

Only around 35% of Redfern homes are owner-occupied, so roughly two in three are rented. Two things follow from that. A lot of the stock is investor-grade one-bedroom and studio product, which is exactly where lender floor-area rules bite. And apartment yields near 4.1% against house yields of 2.6% is why almost every investor file we see around here is a unit, not a terrace.

What you would actually need as a deposit

On the median $1,050,000 apartment, a 20% deposit is $210,000, and a 5% deposit is $52,500 with lenders mortgage insurance on top unless you qualify for a waiver. On the median $2,410,000 house, 20% is $482,000. Stamp duty sits on top of all of that, and our stamp duty calculator gives you the NSW figure for a specific price.

Who we work with around here

First home buyers stretching to get into the inner city, often with a family guarantee doing the heavy lifting. Owners of older terraces refinancing to fund a renovation. Investors buying units near the university and the light rail. Small business owners and contractors whose income is real but does not fit a payslip template.

Medical professionals too — Royal Prince Alfred and the surrounding practices are close by, and many lenders waive lenders mortgage insurance for eligible doctors, dentists and specialists borrowing up to 95%. That can save between $10,000 and $50,000 depending on the purchase price. Our page on home loans for doctors sets out how the waiver works, and the wider guide to medical professional home loans covers nurses and allied health.

Suburbs we cover from the Redfern office

Redfern, Darlington, Waterloo, Zetland, Alexandria, Erskineville, Newtown, Chippendale, Surry Hills, Eveleigh, Rosebery and Green Square. If you are further out, that is fine too — we work across Greater Sydney, and most of the process happens by phone and email anyway. See our main Sydney mortgage broker page for the full picture, or the North Sydney office if that is closer to you.

What it costs you

For a standard home loan, nothing. The lender pays the commission whether you use a broker or walk into a branch, so using one does not add to your rate or your fees. On commercial and some complex files we charge a mandate fee for the work involved; if that applies to you we tell you before any work starts and give you a written credit quote first. No surprises at the end.

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Getting a straight answer on how much you can borrow

Online calculators give you a number with no policy behind it. What actually moves your borrowing power is the detail: how your overtime or bonus is treated, whether your HECS balance is counted, your credit card limits rather than your balances, how many dependants you have, and which lender is doing the assessing. Two of those levers are usually worth more than any rate difference.

Answer a few questions and we will come back with a realistic range and the lenders behind it, before you speak to anyone at a bank. You can also start with our borrowing power calculator and our stamp duty calculator for the upfront costs.

Where rates are heading

Nobody knows, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. What we can do is show you what the economists are actually forecasting for the cash rate, and structure your loan so you are not badly exposed either way — which usually means a decision about fixing part of it rather than all of it. The OurTop10 rate index at ourtop10.com.au/rba-index tracks the panel’s predictions ahead of each RBA meeting.

Why people pick us

Because we answer the phone after settlement, and we review your rate every year rather than waiting for you to notice it has crept up. Over the life of a loan, that is worth more than a sharp honeymoon rate you never look at again. We have been quoted in ABC News, SBS, 9News, the Australian and news.com.au on lending and rates, and we hold a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 106 client reviews.

Kylie Soltani
Lending Specialist, Soren Financial

“Around Redfern and Waterloo the deal is rarely lost on the borrower — it is lost on the property. A studio a few square metres under a lender’s minimum, or a terrace with an unapproved addition out the back, and suddenly half the panel is out. We would rather check the building before you fall in love with it than tell you afterwards.”

Redfern mortgage broker questions we get asked

Do I have to come into the Redfern office?

No. Most clients do the whole thing by phone, email and e-signature, and never sit down with us. The office is there if you would rather talk it through in person, and some people prefer that for a first purchase.

Can I get a loan on a studio apartment in Redfern or Waterloo?

Often yes, but the lender list is shorter and the deposit may need to be larger. Internal floor area is the usual sticking point, along with how much of the building any one lender already holds. Send us the address before you bid and we will tell you which lenders will take it.

Do you handle investment lending as well as owner-occupied?

Yes. A lot of the work around Redfern and Erskineville is investors buying units near the university and the light rail. Investment loans price differently and are assessed differently, and the order in which you buy affects what you can borrow next.

What if I am self-employed?

That is a normal file for us, not a difficult one. Some lenders will work from 12 months of ABN trading history provided you are registered for GST, and where recent figures understate the business we build the case on trajectory — an accountant’s declaration, BAS statements, or both. See our page for accountants and their clients.

Come in, or don’t. Either works

Tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you honestly whether we can beat what you have already been offered. If we cannot, we will say so.

The Redfern office is at 617 Elizabeth Street, Redfern NSW 2016, open during normal business hours. Call 1300 899 819 if you would rather just talk it through.

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This information is general and does not take your personal circumstances into account. Written by Mansour Soltani, Director at Soren Financial. Credit representative number 527 161, under Finsure Finance & Insurance Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 384704.