HOUSING FINANCE


HOUSING FINANCE COMMITMENTS

In trend terms, the total value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation) in South Australia in July 2008 was $825m, a decrease of 2.0% from $841m in June 2008. This was the eighth consecutive monthly fall in the value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation). Nationally, the value of housing finance commitments for owner occupation fell by 2.6% from $12,532m in June 2008 to $12,202m in July 2008.

In July 2008, the average home loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia was $200,100, which was significantly lower than the average home loan size for Australia ($248,400). Over the past year, there has been some growth in the average loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia; the average loan size in July 2008 ($200,100) was 3.4% higher than that of July 2007 ($193,600).

In July 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers in South Australia was $209,400, which was 5.7% higher than the average loan size for non-first home buyers ($198,200). From June 2008 to July 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers increased by 0.5%, while the average loan size for non-first home buyers increased by 4.2%.

For information on the house price index, please refer to the ' Price Indexes' topic.