Loans for new homes have contracted in January affecting the overall lending activity among interested purchasers, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
Figures released on Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that the volume of loans for new homes eased back during January, HIA senior economist Shane Garrett said.
“Despite the reduction during January, the actual volume of loans for new homes remains at a very elevated level – about 99,620 loans were made over the year to January 2017,” Garrett said.
The total number of owner-occupier loans for the purchase or construction of new homes fell by one percent in January and was 0.4 percent lower than a year earlier.
The volume of loans for new home purchase declined by 0.3 percent during January with lending for the construction of new dwellings dipping by 1.4 percent.
“There are two dynamics going on with respect to new home loans,” he said.
Last year came out the strongest year for new dwelling starts since the end of WWII, a huge number of new homes are now becoming available for purchase making lending volumes in this area accordingly high.
For January alone the number of loans to owner-occupiers constructing or purchasing new homes rose in three states.
Compared with last January, the volume of loans rose most strongly in Queensland (+13.1 percent), followed by South Australia (+9.2 percent) and Victoria (+8.8 percent).
The largest reduction occurred in Western Australia (-9.3 percent), followed by Tasmania (-3.5 percent) and New South Wales (-1.2 percent).
The volume of lending rose by 22.1 percent in the Australian Capital Territory but was down by 54.8 percent in the Northern Territory in the same period.
