Refinancing soared in June as borrowers took advantage of competitive offers, according to new data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest figures show that the value of new loans for housing fell 4.4% in June 2022 (seasonally adjusted) yet remains at the historically high level of $31.0 billion.
The value of new owner-occupier lending fell 3.3% in June 2022, while new loans for investors fell 6.3%.
ABS head of Finance and Wealth Katherine Keenan said that the falls followed rises in May, which were attributed to a clearing of application processing backlogs by lenders.
“Even with the June falls, the value of new owner-occupier loan commitments remains 50% higher than the pre-pandemic level in February 2020, and the value of new investor loan commitments is 101% higher”, Keenan added.
The value of borrower refinancing of owner-occupier housing loans between lenders rose 9.7% to a new record high of $12.7 billion in June 2022.
Keenan noted that the value of owner-occupier refinancing, where the borrower changed lender, was 25% higher in June compared to a year ago.
“As interest rates rose in recent months, borrowers sought loans with lower interest rates and lenders competed to attract them”, she said.
The value of new owner-occupier loans dropped across most states and territories. Victoria fell 7.1% following a 6.1% rise in May, while smaller falls were seen in New South Wales (down 2.0%) and Western Australia (down 4.7%).
The number of new loans to owner-occupier first home buyers fell 8.0% in June 2022 to 9,393, close to the pre-pandemic level in February 2020 of 9,549. Lending in this sector fell across almost all states and territories, particularly Victoria (down 11.2%), New South Wales (down 9.4%) and Western Australia (down 13.8%).
The fall in the value of new investor lending was driven by New South Wales (down 10.5% or $439m), Victoria (down 3.4% or $100m) and Western Australia (down 10.6% or $78m). Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory also fell, to a lesser degree.
