Investor lending rose again to a record high in January, according to data released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest finance figures show that new investor housing loans rose 6.1% to another record high of $11.0 billion (seasonally adjusted) in January 2022.
ABS head of Finance and Wealth Katherine Keenan said the value of new loans to investors has grown over the past 15 months, consistent with the strong housing market and growth in house prices.
“Despite record investor loan commitments, the share of investor lending to all new housing loan commitments was around one third. This reflects the rapid growth of owner-occupier commitments over the past 18 months”, Keenan said.
The rise in investor loans was driven by New South Wales (up 9.8%), Victoria (up 11.1%), and the Australian Capital Territory (22.8%). Queensland fell slightly (1.7%) but remained at historically elevated levels.
The total value of new loans for housing rose 2.6% to a record high of $33.7 billion, driven by the rise in investor loans. The value of new owner-occupier lending rose 1.0% to $22.7 billion.
The rise in owner-occupier loans was driven by New South Wales (up 3.3%), Victoria (up 3.2%) and the Australian Capital Territory (up 33.5%).
The number of new loans to first home buyers fell 6.9% in January 2022. This was 32.6% lower compared to a year ago, when first home buyer activity was near a record high.
Falls were evident across almost all states and territories, with Queensland (down 16.1%) and Western Australia (down 8.1%) being the strongest. The Australian Capital Territory recorded the only increase (up 25.7%).
At the national level, the average loan size for owner-occupier dwellings (which includes construction and the purchase of new and existing dwellings) rose $17,000 to another record high of $619,000 in January.
Keenan said that the strong rise in the average loan size for owner-occupier dwellings in January was due to an increase in the value of loans, and a largely unchanged number of new loans.
“All states and territories rose to new highs except Tasmania and the Northern Territory”, she concluded.
