Investor lending dips; first-home buyer activity also softens
The total value of new housing loans in Australia dipped 0.3% in September to $30.2 billion, marking the first decline after seven consecutive monthly increases, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Investor loan commitments dropped 1% to $11.6 billion, though this was still 29.5% higher than in September 2023 and just below the peak recorded in January 2022. Meanwhile, owner-occupier loans edged up 0.1% to $18.6 billion, representing a 13.1% year-on-year increase.
Loans to first-home buyers saw a decline, with owner-occupier first-home buyer loans down 3.3% to $5.2 billion, although this was 8.8% higher than the same month last year.
“Over the past 18 months, the average size of loans approved has increased for both owner-occupiers and investors. However, the growth in investor loans was also driven by increases in the number of loans being approved,” said Mish Tan (pictured above), ABS head of finance statistics. “Investor activity remains at high levels in response to recent growth in house prices and rental yields.”
The number of new owner-occupier first-home buyer loans also fell, dropping 3.2% in September to 9,686, which was still 2% above September 2023 levels. Victoria led in first-home buyer loans with 3,146 approvals, followed by New South Wales with 2,250 and Queensland with 1,845.
In the personal finance sector, new fixed-term loan commitments rose 2.1% to $2.8 billion, up 16.1% from a year ago. Lending for road vehicles saw a modest monthly increase of 0.7%.
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