Largest quarterly falls on record led by loans to investors

Media Release

Released

11/11/2026

Source

Lending indicators, September Quarter 2026

Release date and time

11/11/2026 11:30am AEDT

The number of new home loans fell 15.0 per cent to 111,878 in the September quarter 2026, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The value of new home loans fell 15.5 per cent to $81,157 million this quarter, the largest quarterly fall since the commencement of the series in September quarter 2002.

This continues the downward trend seen throughout 2026.

Dr Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics, said, ‘While lending activity fell across all borrower types in the September quarter, the decline was sharpest for investors. Our data suggests that investor activity is being influenced by factors beyond increasing borrowing costs, including the potential impacts of tax changes and expectations of lower house prices.’

Falls in investor lending accelerated to almost double the previous record

The number of new investor loans fell 30.6 per cent to 35,301 loans over the quarter while the value fell 32.3 per cent to $24,705 million.

This marks the third consecutive quarterly decline in both the number and value of investor loans and is the largest quarterly fall on record for both series.

The decline was broad-based, with strong falls recorded in all states and territories.

Through the year growth in the number of new investor loans has fallen from 24.9 per cent in the December quarter 2025 to -38.5 per cent in the September quarter 2026.

Owner occupier lending continued to fall

The number of new loans to owner occupiers fell 5.3 per cent in the September quarter, following a 4.0 per cent fall in the June quarter. Lending to owner occupiers was 9.8 per cent lower than a year ago.

The quarterly fall was driven by Queensland (-10.4 per cent), Victoria (-6.6 per cent) and New South Wales (-4.1 per cent).

The number of owner occupier first home buyer loans fell 8.6 per cent during the quarter, following a 4.4 per cent fall in the June quarter. Lending to first home buyers was 12.3 per cent lower than a year ago.

Owner occupier first home buyers continued to account for more than one-third of owner occupier commitments, remaining a significant share of owner occupier lending.

Value of new loan commitments for dwellings (a), seasonally adjusted, Australia
	Total dwellings (seasadj) ($b)	Owner occupier (seasadj) ($b)	Investor (seasadj) ($b)
Sep-02	27.708	16.699	11.01
Dec-02	28.181	17.202	10.979
Mar-03	30.75	18.571	12.18
Jun-03	33.127	20.01	13.118
Sep-03	37.544	21.38	16.164
Dec-03	37.187	20.91	16.278
Mar-04	33.219	18.994	14.225
Jun-04	32.251	19.315	12.937
Sep-04	32.559	19.931	12.628
Dec-04	33.794	20.814	12.98
Mar-05	35.8	21.863	13.937
Jun-05	35.317	22.257	13.059
Sep-05	35.9	22.865	13.035
Dec-05	37.925	23.921	14.004
Mar-06	39.859	25.133	14.726
Jun-06	41.421	25.909	15.512
Sep-06	40.466	25.925	14.541
Dec-06	38.777	25.176	13.601
Mar-07	42.788	27.081	15.707
Jun-07	47.244	29.532	17.712
Sep-07	47.137	29.451	17.686
Dec-07	46.024	29.008	17.016
Mar-08	42.413	26.757	15.656
Jun-08	36.777	23.249	13.528
Sep-08	35.212	22.37	12.842
Dec-08	36.366	23.865	12.501
Mar-09	42.863	30.092	12.771
Jun-09	46.29	32.4	13.89
Sep-09	48.157	32.61	15.547
Dec-09	46.366	30.404	15.962
Mar-10	43.386	27.059	16.327
Jun-10	41.748	25.396	16.353
Sep-10	40.724	25.459	15.265
Dec-10	40.545	25.512	15.034
Mar-11	38.589	24.61	13.979
Jun-11	38.672	24.835	13.837
Sep-11	39.041	24.827	14.214
Dec-11	38.598	24.701	13.897
Mar-12	40.285	25.008	15.277
Jun-12	39.834	24.947	14.887
Sep-12	40.902	25.784	15.118
Dec-12	41.695	26.017	15.678
Mar-13	44.49	27.224	17.266
Jun-13	47.779	28.933	18.847
Sep-13	48.902	28.964	19.937
Dec-13	52.531	30.523	22.008
Mar-14	53.573	31.149	22.424
Jun-14	53.808	31.144	22.663
Sep-14	55.195	30.935	24.26
Dec-14	56.768	31.362	25.406
Mar-15	58.174	32.228	25.947
Jun-15	58.331	32.22	26.111
Sep-15	59.723	36.494	23.229
Dec-15	55.7	36.753	18.947
Mar-16	53.251	34.676	18.575
Jun-16	56.222	35.939	20.283
Sep-16	56.576	34.552	22.024
Dec-16	60.031	35.627	24.404
Mar-17	62.623	37.458	25.165
Jun-17	61.052	38.163	22.889
Sep-17	61.485	39.633	21.853
Dec-17	59.374	38.951	20.423
Mar-18	57.712	38.685	19.027
Jun-18	56.743	38.952	17.791
Sep-18	54.03	37.09	16.941
Dec-18	50.297	35.026	15.271
Mar-19	46.124	32.48	13.644
Jun-19	45.36	32.434	12.926
Sep-19	50.079	35.584	14.495
Dec-19	54.388	39.238	15.15
Mar-20	54.336	39.57	14.766
Jun-20	47.307	35.129	12.178
Sep-20	58.554	44.276	14.278
Dec-20	67.438	51.377	16.06
Mar-21	80.206	60.092	20.115
Jun-21	86.578	62.732	23.846
Sep-21	90.129	62.468	27.661
Dec-21	91.249	60.739	30.51
Mar-22	93.216	60.473	32.743
Jun-22	86.298	56.855	29.444
Sep-22	77.104	51.658	25.446
Dec-22	69.182	46.008	23.174
Mar-23	65.294	42.951	22.343
Jun-23	67.828	44.844	22.984
Sep-23	69.689	45.206	24.483
Dec-23	75.238	48.518	26.72
Mar-24	74.937	46.817	28.12
Jun-24	83.674	52.34	31.334
Sep-24	87.566	54.022	33.543
Dec-24	87.714	54.901	32.814
Mar-25	85.74	53.06	32.68
Jun-25	90.084	56.256	33.828
Sep-25	99.097	59.184	39.913
Dec-25	108.572	65.02	43.553
Mar-26	101.861	60.785	41.076
Jun-26	96.06	59.59	36.47
Sep-26	81.157	56.453	24.705

Value of new loan commitments for dwellings (a), seasonally adjusted, Australia

["","Total dwellings (seasadj)","Owner occupier (seasadj)","Investor (seasadj)"]

[["Sep-02","Dec-02","Mar-03","Jun-03","Sep-03","Dec-03","Mar-04","Jun-04","Sep-04","Dec-04","Mar-05","Jun-05","Sep-05","Dec-05","Mar-06","Jun-06","Sep-06","Dec-06","Mar-07","Jun-07","Sep-07","Dec-07","Mar-08","Jun-08","Sep-08","Dec-08","Mar-09","Jun-09","Sep-09","Dec-09","Mar-10","Jun-10","Sep-10","Dec-10","Mar-11","Jun-11","Sep-11","Dec-11","Mar-12","Jun-12","Sep-12","Dec-12","Mar-13","Jun-13","Sep-13","Dec-13","Mar-14","Jun-14","Sep-14","Dec-14","Mar-15","Jun-15","Sep-15","Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25","Mar-26","Jun-26","Sep-26"],[[27.708],[28.181],[30.75],[33.127],[37.544],[37.187],[33.219],[32.251],[32.559],[33.794],[35.8],[35.317],[35.9],[37.925],[39.859],[41.421],[40.466],[38.777],[42.788],[47.244],[47.137],[46.024],[42.413],[36.777],[35.212],[36.366],[42.863],[46.29],[48.157],[46.366],[43.386],[41.748],[40.724],[40.545],[38.589],[38.672],[39.041],[38.598],[40.285],[39.834],[40.902],[41.695],[44.49],[47.779],[48.902],[52.531],[53.573],[53.808],[55.195],[56.768],[58.174],[58.331],[59.723],[55.7],[53.251],[56.222],[56.576],[60.031],[62.623],[61.052],[61.485],[59.374],[57.712],[56.743],[54.03],[50.297],[46.124],[45.36],[50.079],[54.388],[54.336],[47.307],[58.554],[67.438],[80.206],[86.578],[90.129],[91.249],[93.216],[86.298],[77.104],[69.182],[65.294],[67.828],[69.689],[75.238],[74.937],[83.674],[87.566],[87.714],[85.74],[90.084],[99.097],[108.572],[101.861],[96.06],[81.157]],[[16.699],[17.202],[18.571],[20.01],[21.38],[20.91],[18.994],[19.315],[19.931],[20.814],[21.863],[22.257],[22.865],[23.921],[25.133],[25.909],[25.925],[25.176],[27.081],[29.532],[29.451],[29.008],[26.757],[23.249],[22.37],[23.865],[30.092],[32.4],[32.61],[30.404],[27.059],[25.396],[25.459],[25.512],[24.61],[24.835],[24.827],[24.701],[25.008],[24.947],[25.784],[26.017],[27.224],[28.933],[28.964],[30.523],[31.149],[31.144],[30.935],[31.362],[32.228],[32.22],[36.494],[36.753],[34.676],[35.939],[34.552],[35.627],[37.458],[38.163],[39.633],[38.951],[38.685],[38.952],[37.09],[35.026],[32.48],[32.434],[35.584],[39.238],[39.57],[35.129],[44.276],[51.377],[60.092],[62.732],[62.468],[60.739],[60.473],[56.855],[51.658],[46.008],[42.951],[44.844],[45.206],[48.518],[46.817],[52.34],[54.022],[54.901],[53.06],[56.256],[59.184],[65.02],[60.785],[59.59],[56.453]],[[11.01],[10.979],[12.18],[13.118],[16.164],[16.278],[14.225],[12.937],[12.628],[12.98],[13.937],[13.059],[13.035],[14.004],[14.726],[15.512],[14.541],[13.601],[15.707],[17.712],[17.686],[17.016],[15.656],[13.528],[12.842],[12.501],[12.771],[13.89],[15.547],[15.962],[16.327],[16.353],[15.265],[15.034],[13.979],[13.837],[14.214],[13.897],[15.277],[14.887],[15.118],[15.678],[17.266],[18.847],[19.937],[22.008],[22.424],[22.663],[24.26],[25.406],[25.947],[26.111],[23.229],[18.947],[18.575],[20.283],[22.024],[24.404],[25.165],[22.889],[21.853],[20.423],[19.027],[17.791],[16.941],[15.271],[13.644],[12.926],[14.495],[15.15],[14.766],[12.178],[14.278],[16.06],[20.115],[23.846],[27.661],[30.51],[32.743],[29.444],[25.446],[23.174],[22.343],[22.984],[24.483],[26.72],[28.12],[31.334],[33.543],[32.814],[32.68],[33.828],[39.913],[43.553],[41.076],[36.47],[24.705]]]

[]

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a. All series exclude refinancing

Loan commitments for dwellings includes loans for the purpose of 'Construction of new dwellings', 'Purchase of new dwellings' and 'Purchase of existing dwellings'. 'Residential land' and 'Alterations and additions' are available as separate series.

Number of new loan commitments for dwellings (a), seasonally adjusted, Australia
	Total dwellings (seasadj) (no.)	Owner occupier (seasadj) (no.)	Investor (seasadj) (no.)
Sep-16	NA	82,558	NA
Dec-16	NA	84,154	NA
Mar-17	NA	89,512	NA
Jun-17	NA	90,149	NA
Sep-17	NA	93,191	NA
Dec-17	NA	89,500	NA
Mar-18	NA	87,157	NA
Jun-18	NA	86,771	NA
Sep-18	NA	83,274	NA
Dec-18	NA	80,900	NA
Mar-19	NA	75,290	NA
Jun-19	NA	73,388	NA
Sep-19	108,066	77,071	30,995
Dec-19	112,014	80,460	31,554
Mar-20	110,013	80,107	29,906
Jun-20	94,569	70,590	23,979
Sep-20	119,428	90,387	29,041
Dec-20	134,942	102,930	32,012
Mar-21	157,599	119,321	38,278
Jun-21	157,614	114,671	42,943
Sep-21	157,911	108,676	49,235
Dec-21	155,836	103,134	52,702
Mar-22	154,838	101,254	53,584
Jun-22	141,181	92,711	48,471
Sep-22	129,242	86,182	43,060
Dec-22	116,421	76,728	39,693
Mar-23	111,399	74,247	37,151
Jun-23	114,812	76,474	38,339
Sep-23	115,691	75,857	39,834
Dec-23	122,743	78,926	43,817
Mar-24	122,516	78,058	44,458
Jun-24	131,203	82,283	48,920
Sep-24	134,736	83,785	50,951
Dec-24	132,128	82,126	50,002
Mar-25	130,420	81,866	48,554
Jun-25	131,897	82,235	49,663
Sep-25	142,353	84,922	57,430
Dec-25	150,334	87,884	62,450
Mar-26	141,979	84,169	57,810
Jun-26	131,687	80,842	50,845
Sep-26	111,878	76,578	35,301

Number of new loan commitments for dwellings (a), seasonally adjusted, Australia

[" ","Total dwellings (seasadj)","Owner occupier (seasadj)","Investor (seasadj)"]

[["Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25","Mar-26","Jun-26","Sep-26"],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[108066],[112014],[110013],[94569],[119428],[134942],[157599],[157614],[157911],[155836],[154838],[141181],[129242],[116421],[111399],[114812],[115691],[122743],[122516],[131203],[134736],[132128],[130420],[131897],[142353],[150334],[141979],[131687],[111878]],[[82558],[84154],[89512],[90149],[93191],[89500],[87157],[86771],[83274],[80900],[75290],[73388],[77071],[80460],[80107],[70590],[90387],[102930],[119321],[114671],[108676],[103134],[101254],[92711],[86182],[76728],[74247],[76474],[75857],[78926],[78058],[82283],[83785],[82126],[81866],[82235],[84922],[87884],[84169],[80842],[76578]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[30995],[31554],[29906],[23979],[29041],[32012],[38278],[42943],[49235],[52702],[53584],[48471],[43060],[39693],[37151],[38339],[39834],[43817],[44458],[48920],[50951],[50002],[48554],[49663],[57430],[62450],[57810],[50845],[35301]]]

[]

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a. All series exclude refinancing

Some series only commenced collection in the September quarter 2019 with the introduction of the Economic and Financial Statistics collection.

Media notes

All figures are seasonally adjusted unless noted otherwise.
Lending Indicators reverted to concurrent seasonal adjustment in the October 2022 release. This method of seasonal adjustment will result in revisions to historical data each quarter. For more information, see the methodology page
For any media requests, email media@abs.gov.au or call 1300 175 070 (9am-5pm Canberra time) with your questions and deadline.
Please attribute the 'Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)' when using our data.
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APA

Citation

Largest quarterly falls on record led by loans to investors

APA

Citation

Falls in investor lending accelerated to almost double the previous record

Owner occupier lending continued to fall

Media notes

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