Quiet January period hammers mortgage activity

This is a steeper decline compared with the week of 10 January, when CoreLogic revealed that mortgage activity had fallen by 40.2 per cent month-on-month.

The fall in activity has come amid the quiet January period, when activity in the property market is generally subdued and with auctions yet to resume for the year.

NSW recorded the sharpest fall in activity, which has fallen by 57.2 per cent month-on-month, while home loan activity fell in all the other states.

South Australia recorded a 47.7 per cent month-on-month decline, while activity also plummeted in Tasmania (46.6 per cent), Queensland (43.4 per cent), Victoria (41.9 per cent) and Western Australia (32.7 per cent).

As the property market continues to face a shortage in housing stock amid high demand from buyers, CoreLogic data showed that the number of new listings across the combined capitals has increased by 3.4 per cent over a 12-month period.

However, the number of total listings has declined by 19 per cent over the same period across the capital cities.

Melbourne recorded a 35.3 per cent jump in the number of new listings over a 12-month period, while Perth recorded a 3.2 per cent rise.

All other capital cities registered a drop in the number of new listings, with Darwin falling by 26.7 per cent, Hobart falling by 23.7 per cent, Adelaide declining by 14.7 per cent, Canberra falling by 14.0 per cent, Brisbane falling by 10.8 per cent, and Sydney falling by 3.5 per cent.

According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week, mortgage approvals reached a new record high in November 2020, rising 5.6 per cent to $24 billion (seasonally adjusted).

The value of new owner-occupier home loan commitments also hit a new record in November 2020, rising 5.5 per cent on October 2020 figures to $18.3 billion in November.

[Related: Victorian home buyers make a comeback]