The value of new loan commitments for fixed term personal finance fell sharply in April, down 24.8 per cent, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released today.
ABS Chief Economist, Bruce Hockman, said: “This was the largest fall in the history of the series, which started in July 2002, and was driven by a 37.8 per cent fall in the value of loan commitments for road vehicles.
“Lending institutions reported that COVID-19 impacts were being seen through both reduced demand from borrowers and tighter lending criteria.”
The value of new loan commitments for owner occupier housing fell 5.0 per cent, while investor housing fell 4.2 per cent. The number of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments fell 3.8 per cent.
“COVID-19 operational impacts experienced by some lending institutions resulted in a backlog of March housing loan applications being processed in April, which moderated the April fall in loan commitments,” Mr Hockman said.
The ABS appreciates the continued support of APRA and lending institutions in providing the data used to compile this publication and for the additional data insights being provided by lending institutions.
More information is available in Lending Indicators, Australia (cat no. 5601.0).
Media note
- When reporting ABS data, you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) as the source
- For media requests and interviews, please contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8:30am - 5:00pm Mon-Fri)
- Subscribe to our email notification service and get media releases or products sent to you on release.