The value of new loan commitments for housing rose 4.6 per cent in January, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
ABS Chief Economist, Bruce Hockman, said: “In January, the value of housing loan commitments grew at the fastest rate since the turning point in lending activity in mid-2019. This growth continued to be driven by owner occupier housing, which rose 5.0 per cent in January, the eighth consecutive month of uninterrupted growth.
“The value of new loan commitments for investor housing also strengthened in January, rising 3.6 per cent.”
The number of loan commitments to owner occupier first home buyers rose 3.2 per cent in January continuing the strong growth seen in 2019. The number of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments were up 25.6 per cent on January 2019.
The value of personal finance fixed term loan commitments rose 2.0 per cent in January following a 4.1 per cent rise in December and were up 10.4 per cent on January 2019.
In trend terms, the value of new loan commitments to businesses for construction fell 1.3 per cent in January. This was driven by weaker loan commitments for the construction of dwellings, with this series down 23.6 per cent from the January 2018 peak.
More information is available in Lending Indicators, Australia (cat no. 5601.0).
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