HOUSING FINANCE


HOUSING FINANCE COMMITMENTS

In trend terms, the total value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation) in South Australia in August 2008 was $832m, a decrease of 0.5% from $836m in July 2008. This was the ninth consecutive monthly fall in the value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation). Nationally, the value of housing finance commitments for owner occupation fell by 1.5% from $12,210m in July 2008 to $12,028m in August 2008.

In August 2008, the average home loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia was $205,100, which was significantly lower than the average home loan size for Australia ($249,200). 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 August 2008 ($205,100) was 7.9% higher than that of August 2007 ($190,000).

In August 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers in South Australia was $217,900, which was 7.6% higher than the average loan size for non-first home buyers ($202,600). From July 2008 to August 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers increased by 4.1%, while the average loan size for non-first home buyers increased by 2.2%.

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