A bank drops a 1.5 percent cashback and the market erupts. We pull back the curtain on the three‑week window that sent refinances and purchases into overdrive, jammed call centres, and turned five‑day turnarounds into sixteen. From the first spark at the end of November to the mid‑December scramble, we trace the arc: who actually qualified, why a 20 percent deposit became the golden ticket, and how falling house values quietly locked out thousands who bought at the peak.
We talk through the messy middle—applications flooding in, one major bank opening and then shutting intake within a week, others honouring only files lodged by a set date, and advisers chasing valuations to hit settlement cut‑offs. The human cost shows up fast: service drops for new and existing customers, pre‑approvals stall, and front‑line teams burn out during the busiest month of the year. If you’ve ever wondered how a well‑intended incentive can backfire, this case study lays it bare with real timelines, client scenarios, and the operational choke points no one sees on the billboard.
There’s a strategic twist too. Many borrowers who pocketed the cashback were going to settle with that bank anyway—great for them, not so great for acquisition. We lay out a smarter playbook for next time: prepare documents early, get valuations ready, check realistic equity, and confirm whether the bank will honour your application if queues blow out. You’ll leave with practical steps to seize future offers without risking delays, plus a candid read on what lenders should fix before launching the next headline‑grabber.
If this deep dive helps you navigate the next big offer, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s weighing a refinance, and leave a quick review so others can find us.
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