5671.0 - Lending Finance, Australia, Aug 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/10/2003   
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AUGUST KEY FIGURES


TREND ESTIMATES
% change
Jul 2003
Aug 2003
Jul 2003 to
$m
$m
Aug 2003

Housing finance for owner occupation
10,533
10,820
2.7
Personal finance
6,405
6,560
2.4
Commercial finance
22,363
22,549
0.8
Lease finance
545
549
0.6

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
% change
Jul 2003
Aug 2003
Jul 2003 to
$m
$m
Aug 2003

Housing finance for owner occupation
10,651
10,921
2.5
Personal finance
6,538
6,859
4.9
Commercial finance
22,120
23,348
5.6
Lease finance
543
588
8.4



Graph - Personal finance
Graph - Commercial finance


AUGUST KEY POINTS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION
  • The total value of owner-occupied housing commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 2.5% in August 2003. The trend series increased by 2.7% in August.

PERSONAL FINANCE
  • Total personal finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 4.9% in August 2003,following a 6.4% rise in July. Increases were recorded in both fixed lending (up 2.7%) and revolving credit commitments (up 6.6%) in August.
  • The total personal trend series continued to grow, rising by 2.4% in August 2003. The trend estimates for fixed and revolving commitments increased by 1.8% and 2.9% respectively.

COMMERCIAL FINANCE
  • Total commercial finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) increased by 5.6% in August 2003, due to a 9.6% rise in the fixed lending series. The revolving credit series fell by 2.4% in August.
  • The purchase of dwellings by individuals for rent and resale (seasonally adjusted) increased by 3.1% in August 2003, the fourth consecutive rise.
  • The trend series for total commercial finance increased by 0.8% in August 2003. The fixed lending trend rose by 1.9%, while the revolving credit trend fell by 1.1%


LEASE FINANCE
  • Lease finance (seasonally adjusted) increased by 8.4% in August 2003, following a 17.7% rise in July.
  • The lease finance trend rose by 0.6% in August 2003.


NOTES


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

This publication now includes seasonally adjusted and trend series for all components of housing finance. These are presented in table eight.

Table one now includes seasonally adjusted and trend estimates for all components of finance commitments.


DATA QUALITY

The August housing finance for owner occupation data should be considered as preliminary. There are some quality issues in reported data which ABS has not been able to resolve fully in time to meet the publication timetable. The August data are the ABS's best estimates, but there may be revisions. We are confident that any revised estimate for the growth in the number and value of housing finance commitments for owner occupation (seasonally adjusted) would be within about one percentage point of the current estimate.


SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION

The total value of commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 2.5% in August 2003, after a rise of 3.4% in July. The trend series increased 2.7%, continuing the run of increases from March 2002.

For further information refer to Housing Finance For Owner Occupation, Australia (cat. no. 5609.0).


PERSONAL FINANCE

Total personal finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 4.9% to $6 859 million in August 2003, driven by increases in both component series. Revolving credit commitments continued its strong growth, rising by 6.6% to $3 919 million in August, following a 7.1% increase in July. Fixed lending commitments increased by 2.7% to $2940 million in the month.

The total personal finance trend series commitments increased by 2.4% in August 2003. The revolving credit trend series increased by 2.9%, while the fixed lending series rose by 1.8% in August.

COMMERCIAL FINANCE

Total commercial finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) grew by 5.6% to $23 348 million in August 2003. This increase was driven by a strong rise in fixed lending (up 9.6%), which was partly offset by a decrease in revolving credit (down 2.4%).

The purchase of dwellings for rent or resale by individuals (seasonally adjusted) increased for the fourth consecutive month, rising by 3.1% to reach $5 455 in August 2003. The trend for this series rose by 2.9% in August, continuing the growth evident since December 2001.

In original terms, commercial finance for housing (including finance for construction and finance for rent or resale) was 36.1% higher in August 2003 compared with August 2002, while housing for owner occupation increased by 26.4% over the same period.

Graph - PURCHASE OF DWELLINGS BY INDIVIDUALS FOR RENT OR RESALE



LEASE FINANCE

In seasonally adjusted terms, the volatile lease finance series increased by 8.4% to $588 million in August 2003, following a 17.7% rise in July. The lease finance trend series grew by 0.6% in August 2003, driven by the strong growth in the seasonally adjusted series over the last two months.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information about these and related statistics, contact David Connolly on Canberra 02 6252 5659, or the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.