The demand for home loans enjoyed a second wind in November, official figures have revealed, after demand dropped off in October.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 56,798 owner-occupied home loans were approved over the month of November, up 1.8% from October.
It wasn’t just the total number of home loans approved that increased either. According to the data, the total value of all home loans also grew 1.8% over the course of the month.
“In November, more than $33 billion worth of home loans were written,”
Mortgage Choice chief executive officer John Flavell said.
“This spike in both the number and value of all home loans written can largely be attributed to the growth in lending for owner occupied housing.”
The total value of all owner occupied home loans written was $21.753 billion, up 2.4% on the month prior. The total value of investment loans written climbed 0.7% over the course of November.
According to Flavell, the growth in the value of investment loans written is surprising given that banks have made sweeping changes to their investment policy and pricing in recent months.
“Last month, we saw a significant drop in the total value of investment loans written – a drop we attributed to the recent investment lending changes,” he said.
“This month, we have seen investment lending increase slightly, which is very pleasing as it suggests the housing market remains robust.”
However, Flavell said he was pleased to see a spike in the total value of owner occupied loans written, as research conducted by RP Data had shown that property values across the combined capital city fell throughout the month of November.
“In November, property values across the combined capital cities fell 1.5%. Sydney and Melbourne led the charge, with the capital cities recording a 1.4% and 3.5% fall in values respectively,” he said.
“Despite this, the total value of all home loans written remained strong, which is a really good sign for the future.
“Even if growth in the property market stagnates over the coming months, the reality is the market itself is incredibly strong and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”
