New housing loan commitments fell 2.9% in April

Media Release
Cite
Print
Released
2/06/2023
Source
Lending indicators, April 2023
Release date and time
02/06/2023 11:30am AEST

The value of new loan commitments for housing fell 2.9 per cent to $23.3 billion in April 2023 (seasonally adjusted), after a 5.3 per cent rise the previous month, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics, said: “The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments fell 3.8 per cent to $15.4 billion in April, while the value of new investor loan commitments fell 0.9 per cent to $7.9 billion.”

The value of new owner-occupier dwelling loan commitments (excluding land and alterations, additions and repairs) fell 3.9 per cent to $14.3 billion. Meanwhile, the number of these commitments fell only 0.1 per cent.

Compared to pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels in February 2020, the value of new owner-occupier dwelling loan commitments was 10.2 per cent higher in April 2023, while the number of these commitments was 5.3 per cent lower. The average value of these loans has risen by 21.8 per cent (in original terms) over this period.

The number of new owner-occupier first home buyer loan commitments fell 0.9 per cent, after a rise of 16.5 per cent in March. This was 16.2 per cent lower compared to a year ago.

The value of new owner-occupier housing loan refinances between lenders fell 8.6 per cent but remained high at $13.0 billion, after reaching a record high of $14.2 billion in March. Borrowers continued to switch lenders amid a high interest rate environment.

  Aus *NSWVicQldSAWATasNTACT
Owner-occupiers
 Value ($b) :15.44.74.33.11.01.60.20.10.4
 Value change ($m):-617-254-83-56-0.1-16-0.2-20-21
 Value % change ** :-3.8-5.1-1.9-1.8-0.01-1.0-0.1-20.6 †-5.3
Owner-occupier first home buyers
 Number change:-75-24-49-681963-2-3-14
 Number % change ** :-0.9-1.2-2.1-3.93.75.4-1.4-4.3-6.9
Investors
 Value change ($m):-72-160-14451320-3-4-54
 Value % change ** :-0.9-5.1-7.10.33.43.1-3.8-13.3 †-29.0 †

* Total Australia levels do not necessarily equal the sum of states, due to independent seasonal adjustment

** All movements are on a month-to-month basis

† A smaller and more volatile series

Personal finance

The value of total new loan commitments for fixed term personal finance rose 1.5 per cent. Lending for the purchase of road vehicles rose slightly by 0.5 per cent.

More information is available in Lending Indicators, Australia.

Media notes

  • All figures are seasonally adjusted unless noted otherwise.
  • When reporting ABS data, you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • For media requests and interviews, please contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au between 8:30am and 5pm AEDT Monday to Friday.
  • Subscribe to our media release notification service and get ABS media releases or products sent to you on release.