Lending for housing bounced in October and it was not all refinancing, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest figures show that the value of new owner-occupier lending rose 4.9% in October 2023. The number of loans also rose, by 2.8% over the month.
Around the country, the value of lending rose in every state and territory, ranging from a 5.4% leap in NSW to a 0.08% nudge in the Northern Territory. Elsewhere, lending was up by 4.9% in Victoria, 3.3% in Queensland, 1.9% in WA, 1% in South Australia, 0.4% in the ACT and 0.3% in Tasmania.
The number of new owner-occupier first home buyer loans rose 5.1% in October 2023 to be 6.8% higher compared to a year ago. The corresponding value rose 6.2%.
ABS head of finance statistics Mish Tan said that the growth in both number and value of new owner-occupier loans has been relatively strong since February 2023, reflecting rising prices and demand for housing.
“In October, average loan sizes for first home buyers grew 0.3% from $506k to $507k, while average loan sizes across all owner-occupier loans grew 2.1% from $553k to $564k,” Dr Tan said.
The number of refinanced owner-occupier loans between lenders fell 12.4% to 20,518. This continued a decline from the all-time high of 28,150 reached in July 2023.
