Home loan values keep rising in February
Four straight months of rises in values and commitments.
The value of Australian home loans rose 0.4% to $33.530 billion during February, culminating in the fourth consecutive month of gains.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) housing finance figures for February reveal the value of owner-occupied housing commitments rose slightly (0.2%) month-on-month.
The number of owner-occupied housing commitments also increased (0.3%) to 55,070, while the number of construction commitments declined (-0.1%), down to 5,618.
Commitments for the purchase of new dwellings remained flat at 2,761, while commitments for the purchase of established dwellings rose (0.4%) to 46,691.
Housing finance is back on track after months of significant falls in both values and commitments.
However, the number of first home buyer commitments as a percentage of total owner-occupied housing finance commitments fell to 13.3% in February from 13.4% in January.
New research found one third of potential first home buyers would be unlikely to buy if interest rates rise.
The value of outstanding loans financed by Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions (ADIs) jumped 0.4% month-on-month in February to $1,574 billion. Outstanding owner-occupied loans, financed by ADIs, increased 0.5% to $1,022 billion, while investment housing loan outstandings rose 0.3% to $551 billion.
Outstanding housing loans for banks rose 0.4% in February to $1,535 billion. Owner-occupied loans rose 0.5% to $992 billion and outstanding investment housing loans were up 0.3% to $543 billion.
Despite rising property prices across Australia's capital cities, the average balance on loans isn't growing, meaning the risk of mortgage stress hasn't increased.
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