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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Housing finance figures from the ABS reveal the number of finance commitments, in trend terms, increased for the tenth consecutive month.
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The marginal shift saw housing finance commitments in January increase by 0.8 per cent, although in seasonally adjusted terms, it fell by 1.2 per cent.
“In trend terms, increases were recorded in all states and territories except South Australia and Tasmania. Once again, New South Wales recorded the largest increase, up 1.8 per cent," said Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president, Pamela Bennett.
“The upturn in lending commitments reflects the November and December interest rate cuts and growing confidence in the housing market,” she added.
The number of first home buyers, as a percentage of total owner occupied housing commitments, decreased to 20.3 per cent in January 2012 compared to 20.9 per cent in December 2011. This proportion has been around the long-run average of 20.2 per cent, the REIA said.
“At the end of last year we saw increase in the number of first home buyers, as a percentage of total owner occupied housing commitments," Ms Bennett said.
"Unfortunately this trend has not continued in the first month of 2012 with first home buyers being more cautious.”
The value of loans for investors was also down in seasonally adjusted terms, falling 7.1 per cent from December.
