Investors continue to take advantage of low-interest rates, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The figures show that the value of new housing loans were down by 1.6% in June 2021 (seasonally adjusted) but remain at an historically elevated level of $32.1 billion.
The value of new lending to owner-occupiers fell 2.5% in June 2021. While this was the largest fall since May 2020, lending in this sector is still 76% higher compared with a year ago and 64% higher than pre-COVID levels in February 2020.
The biggest factor in the drop was a fall of 17% in the value of loans for the construction of new homes. In addition to this, there was no change in lending to buy existing dwellings.
The fall in construction lending followed a period of rapid growth between July 2020 to February 2021 in which the value of loans rose by 150%. This strength continued to unwind after the reduction in January of the HomeBuilder grant and its subsequent closing in April.
The value of owner-occupier loans fell in Victoria by 5.8%, in New South Wales by 3.2% and in Western Australia by 6.9%. Queensland rose 1.8% and the Australian Capital Territory rose 7.4%.
The value of new loans for investor housing rose 0.7% in June, after a rise of 13.3% in the previous month.
The number of new loans to first home buyers fell for a second consecutive month, down 7.8% in June. The sector remains elevated however, similar to that seen in November 2020.
