Lending rose again in June, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest figures show that the total value of new housing loans rose 1.3% in June to $29.2 billion, in seasonally-adjusted terms.
Owner-occupier lending grew by 0.5% to $18.2 billion, while the value of new investor loans grew by 2.7% to $11.0 billion.
Growth in lending to investors continued to outpace the growth of owner-occupier loans in June. The total value of new investor loans was 30.2% higher compared to a year ago, while for owner-occupiers it was 13.2%.
While growth in the value of new investor loans was recorded across all states and territories over the past 12 months, it was driven by New South Wales (up 27.3% or $901m), Queensland (up 34.5% or $587m) and Western Australia (up 56.7% or $428m).
By comparison, growth was relatively slower in Victoria (up 9.4% or $199m) and South Australia (up 38.3% or $175m).
Over the past 12 months, New South Wales continued to have the highest average loan sizes for both owner-occupiers and investors. In June, it rose to $780,000 for owner-occupiers and $818,000 for investors.
The number of first home buyer loans rose 0.7% in June, 3.4% higher than a year ago. The June growth was driven by a rise of 6.5% in Victoria, which since June 2017 has continued to have the highest number of first home buyer loans of all states and territories.
