Lending indicators

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This release is about new borrower-accepted finance commitments for housing, personal and business loans

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Reference period
January 2023
Released
3/03/2023
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Key statistics

In January 2023, new loan commitments (seasonally adjusted):

  • fell 5.3% for housing
  • rose 0.5% for personal fixed term loans
  • fell 2.5% for business construction (typically a volatile series) but was flat in trend terms, i.e. remaining at the same level as the previous month
  • fell 0.7% for business purchase of property (typically a volatile series) and fell 1.5% in trend terms

Value of new borrower-accepted loan commitments (seasonally adjusted)

   Jan-2023 ($b)Month percent change (%)Year percent change (%)
Households
 Housing22.05-5.3-35.0
  Owner Occupier (a)14.67-4.9-35.1
  Investor (a)7.38-6.0-34.8
 Personal
  Fixed term loans2.160.50.1
Businesses
 Construction1.80-2.5-54.3
 Purchase of Property5.14-0.7-35.9
  1. Loan commitments for owner occupier, investor housing and personal fixed term loans exclude refinancing.

Important data quality notes

Seasonal adjustment methods

The ABS regularly undertakes an extensive review of seasonally adjusted Lending Indicators series to ensure that the seasonal adjustment process continues to produce robust, high quality data. Similar reviews are regularly undertaken across the ABS economic statistics program. Past issues of Lending Indicators contain more information on methods changes that were made during those periods. Further information can also be found here: Methods changes during the COVID-19 period

Treatment of Buy Now Pay Later products in Personal finance

The ABS has identified some inconsistencies in how Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) loan products are being reported. We are working with APRA, the Reserve Bank and lenders to ensure reporting aligns with reporting guidance and definitions, and is consistent across different lenders. Revisions to Personal finance data are expected when this is resolved.

     

Housing finance

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms, the value of new loan commitments:

  • for total housing fell 5.3% to $22.1b, after a fall of 4.3% in December. It was 35.0% lower compared to a year ago.
  • for owner-occupier housing fell 4.9% to $14.7b and was 35.1% lower compared to a year ago
  • for investor housing fell 6.0% to $7.4b and was 34.8% lower compared to a year ago
  1. All series exclude refinancing

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms, the value of external refinancing:

  • for total housing fell 2.1% but remained close to record highs at $18.6b
  • for owner-occupier housing fell 1.9% to $12.7b, which was still the third highest level in the series 
  • for investor housing fell 2.6% to $5.9b but was 10.2% higher compared to a year ago

Personal finance

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms, the value of new loan commitments:

  • for total fixed term personal finance rose 0.5%, after a fall of 3.0% in December
  • for road vehicles fell 0.4%
  • for personal investment fell 2.7%
  • for household and personal goods rose 6.2% to an all-time high
  • for travel and holidays rose 0.9% to the highest level seen since late 2018

Business finance

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms, the value of new loan commitments:

  • for construction finance fell 2.5%, after a rise of 99.4% in December. In trend terms, it was flat i.e. remaining at the same level as the previous month.
  • for the purchase of property fell 0.7%, after a fall of 6.6% in December. In trend terms, it fell 1.5%.

These series can have volatile month-to-month movements in seasonally adjusted terms as they are strongly affected by small numbers of high value loans.

Housing finance (detailed)

Value of new loan commitments by purpose (seasonally adjusted)

   Jan-2023 ($b)Month percent change (%)Year percent change (%)
Owner occupier
 Total housing (a)14.67-4.9-35.1
  Construction of dwellings1.63-8.9-24.5
  Purchase of newly erected dwellings0.86-7.3-33.3
  Purchase of existing dwellings11.19-3.8-37.1
 First home buyers3.34-7.4-36.5
Investor
 Total housing (a)7.38-6.0-34.8

Number of new loan commitments by purpose (seasonally adjusted)

   Jan-2023 (No.)Month percent change (%)Year percent change (%)
Owner occupier
 Total housing (a)
  Construction of dwellings2 840-8.1-31.5
  Purchase of newly erected dwellings1 505-8.6-28.8
  Purchase of existing dwellings18 467-4.8-34.3
 First home buyers6 956-8.1-37.1
Investor
 Total housing (a)
  1. Housing includes loan commitments for dwellings, purchase of residential land and for alterations and additions.
  2. There is no seasonally adjusted or trend data available for the number of owner occupiers or investors for total housing as the data was collected from July 2019.

 

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms, the value of new loan commitments:

  • for owner occupiers fell 4.9%, after a fall of 4.3% in December
  • for investors fell 6.0%, after a fall of 4.3% in December

  

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms for owner-occupier housing, the value of new loan commitments:

  • for the purchase of existing dwellings fell 3.8% and was 37.1% lower compared to a year ago
  • for the construction of new dwellings fell 8.9% and was 24.5% lower compared to a year ago
  • for the purchase of new dwellings fell 7.3% and was 33.3% lower compared to a year ago
  1. For periods prior to July 2019, statistics about owner occupier commitments for residential land are modelled using data about the total value of commitments for residential land.
  2. Hide/unhide series in the graph by clicking the legend above (toggle the 'purchase of existing dwellings' series for a closer look at the other purposes of owner occupier lending).

 

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms for owner-occupier housing, the value of new loan commitments:

  • in Victoria fell 9.8%, in New South Wales fell 7.1%, in Queensland fell 3.5%, in Western Australia fell 5.4%, in South Australia fell 4.2%, in Tasmania fell 4.6% and in the Northern Territory fell 1.2%

  • in the Australian Capital Territory rose 7.2%

  

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms for investor housing, the value of new loan commitments:

  • in Victoria fell 7.4%, in Western Australia fell 14.1%, in Queensland fell 4.9%, in South Australia fell 11.4%, in New South Wales fell 0.7% and in Tasmania (a smaller and more volatile series) fell 10.9%
  • in the Australian Capital Territory rose 13.7% and in the Northern Territory rose 63.5% – both of these being smaller and more volatile series

In January 2023, in original terms:

  • the value of new variable rate loan commitments funded in the month fell 20.6%, the sharpest fall recorded in the series
  • the value of new variable rate loan commitments to first home buyers funded in the month fell 22.2%, the second largest fall recorded in the series
  • the value of new fixed rate loan commitments funded in the month fell 22.8% to the lowest level recorded in the series
  • the value of new fixed rate loan commitments to first home buyers funded in the month fell 24.4%
  1. A loan is considered funded once any portion of the funds is made available for the borrower to draw down according to the terms of the contract. This will occur after there is a borrower-accepted commitment to provide finance. Due to this timing difference, the value of loans funded in the month shown in this graph will generally not reconcile with the value of new borrower-accepted commitments for the month shown in the other graphs and download tables.
  2. Total fixed rate and total variable rate housing loans include their respective first home buyer loan components

In January 2023 in original terms, average loan sizes for owner-occupier dwellings (including construction, purchase of new dwellings and existing dwellings):

  • fell slightly at the national level from $604k to $601k but was 25.2% higher compared to the pre-pandemic average seen in February 2020
  1. Please note that while the series graphed above are joined between the available data points, there may be missing data points in between which are not available for publication

First home buyers

In January 2023 in seasonally adjusted terms for owner-occupier first home buyers, the number of new loan commitments:

  • at the national level fell 8.1% to 6,956, after a fall of 4.1% in December. It was 57.5% lower than the January 2021 high and 27.5% lower than the pre-pandemic level seen in February 2020.
  • in Victoria fell 11.5%, in New South Wales fell 12.7%, in Queensland fell 8.9%, in Western Australia fell 3.7%, in Tasmania fell 8.4% and in South Australia fell 1.5%
  • in the Australian Capital Territory rose 21.3% and in the Northern Territory rose 20.0% – both of these being smaller and more volatile series

Additional information

Previously, the ABS published a first home buyer ratio which was the ratio of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments to all owner occupier loan commitments. The table below presents two owner occupier first home buyer ratios.

  • The first ratio is the ratio of first home buyer loan commitments to total dwelling commitments (excluding refinancing). This is similar to the ratio published prior to October 2019. Loan commitments for dwellings is the sum of loan commitments for construction of dwellings, newly erected dwellings and existing dwellings. 
  • The second ratio is a new ratio, the ratio of first home buyer loan commitments to total housing loan commitments (excluding refinancing). This ratio uses the new key statistic, total housing loan commitments. Total housing loan commitments is the sum of loan commitments for dwellings and loan commitments for purchases of residential land and alterations and additions. 

First home buyer ratios should be used with caution because the direction of movements in the ratio are often not indicative of the direction of movement in the number of first home buyers. First home buyer ratios are no longer routinely published by the ABS in the time series spreadsheets. 

The table below does not include first home buyer loan commitments for investors. Information about the number of loan commitments for investors is new and is separately presented in a graph below.

  

New loan commitments to owner occupier first home buyers (original), number

 First home buyer loan commitments
Number		First home buyer ratio
Dwellings (a)		First home buyer ratio
Housing (b)
Total Australia6 15831.0%26.7%
New South Wales1 20226.4%22.6%
Victoria1 86434.0%29.6%
Queensland1 31929.7%25.3%
South Australia41327.2%23.2%
Western Australia1 00636.3%32.3%
Tasmania12027.6%23.2%
Northern Territory5529.3%26.6%
Australian Capital Territory17935.0%31.2%
  1. Dwellings includes loan commitments for construction of dwellings, purchase of newly erected dwellings and purchase of existing dwellings.
  2. Housing includes loan commitments for dwellings, purchase of residential land and for alterations and additions.

  

Data downloads

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Housing Finance - Total

Data files

  • Table 1. Households; Housing finance; Total housing; By property purpose; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [71.79 KB]

  • Table 2. Households; Housing finance; Total housing; By property purpose; By lender type; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [252.92 KB]

   

Download all (698.79 KB)

Housing Finance - Owner-occupiers

Data files

  • Table 3. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [106.35 KB]

  • Table 4. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; Total housing excluding refinancing; By state; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [101.63 KB]

  • Table 5. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; New South Wales; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [67.97 KB]

  • Table 6. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Victoria; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [67.96 KB]

  • Table 7. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Queensland; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [67.73 KB]

  • Table 8. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; South Australia; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [66.77 KB]

  • Table 9. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Western Australia; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [67.37 KB]

  • Table 10. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Tasmania; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [65.53 KB]

  • Table 11. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Northern Territory; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [68.76 KB]

  • Table 12. Households; Housing finance; Owner occupiers; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Australian Capital Territory; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [69.49 KB]

   

Download all (584.41 KB)

Housing Finance - Investors

Data files

  • Table 13. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [65.04 KB]

  • Table 14. Households; Housing finance; Investors; Total housing excluding refinancing; By state; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [100.25 KB]

  • Table 15. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; New South Wales; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [57.46 KB]

  • Table 16. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Victoria; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [57.32 KB]

  • Table 17. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Queensland; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [57.18 KB]

  • Table 18. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; South Australia; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [56.67 KB]

  • Table 19. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Western Australia; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [56.89 KB]

  • Table 20. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Tasmania; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [56.59 KB]

  • Table 21. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Northern Territory; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [64.44 KB]

  • Table 22. Households; Housing finance; Investors; By detailed purpose; New loan commitments; Australian Capital Territory; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [64.79 KB]

  

Download all (238.92 KB)

Housing Finance - First home buyers

Data files

  • Table 23. Households; Housing finance; First home buyers; By state; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [56.37 KB]

  • Table 24. Households; Housing finance; First home buyers; Owner occupiers; By state; New loan commitments ; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [142.91 KB]

  • Table 25. Households; Housing finance; First home buyers; Investors; By state; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

    Download xlsx [55.68 KB]

    

Table 26. Households; Housing finance; Non-residents; New loan commitments; Numbers and values

Data files
Download xlsx [45.49 KB]

   

Download all (133.01 KB)

Personal Finance

Data files

   

Download all (434.6 KB)

Business Finance

Data files

  • Table 29. Businesses; Business finance; Finance leases; By purpose; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [77.93 KB]

  • Table 30. Businesses; Business finance; Fixed term loans; By purpose; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [98.25 KB]

  • Table 31. Businesses; Business finance; Fixed term loans; Small business size; By purpose; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [68.92 KB]

  • Table 32. Businesses; Business finance; Fixed term loans; Small business size; By State; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [55.83 KB]

  • Table 33. Businesses; Business finance; Fixed term loans; Medium business size; By purpose; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [67.33 KB]

  • Table 34. Businesses; Business finance; Fixed term loans; Medium business size; By State; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [57.19 KB]

  • Table 35. Businesses; Business finance; Fixed term loans; Large business size; By purpose; New loan commitments; Values

    Download xlsx [49.87 KB]

Data cubes

Series ID concordance mapping

Data files
Download xlsx [142.83 KB]

Post-release changes

9 March 2023 - The "Loan commitments to residents funded (a) in the month, including internal and external refinancing (original), value, Australia" graph in the Housing finance (detailed) section was updated to show correct figures across all the series. Previously, series datapoints were incorrectly aggregated excluding a subset of reporting units. 

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5601.0.

Methodology

Lending Indicators methodology, January 2023

Media releases