Home loan demand has bounced back in February, after a slight dip in January.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 56,562 home loans were approved over the course of the month, up 1.5% from 55,754 in January.
Mortgage Choice CEO John Flavell said February’s improvement in home loan demand was in line with expectations.
“Home loan demand always tends to pick up after January, as people settle back into work and start to put their property plans or ambitions for the year ahead into practice,” he said.
The statistics also reveal that the value of home loans approved over the month surged by almost $32 billion.
Almost $12 billion in investment loans were written, up 4.1% on the month prior. The value of all owner occupied home loans written was just over $20.9 billion, up 1.7% from January.
Flavell says this is a good sign for the Australian property market.
“Further, auction clearance rates are strong, interest rates remain at historical lows and dwelling values continue to climb across the combined capital cities month on month. All of this data suggests the property market is performing well and will continue to do so for some time yet.”
When it comes to what type of home borrowers are interested in, the data suggests homebuyers are more interested in buying established dwellings rather than new properties.
Home loans approved for the purchase of new dwellings over the month tumbled 15.4% while home loan demand rose 3% for established dwellings.
“It is now more important than ever for Australia to get our property supply type right. We need to make sure we are building dwellings people want to buy,” Flavell warned.
“Property demand is likely to remain strong for the foreseeable future, so we need to make sure we are generating the right type of supply.”
