Home loan approvals fell slightly in August, continuing a year-long trend of flat lending across the board, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In August, the number of month-on-month approvals for owner-occupier housing were down 3 per cent, seasonally adjusted estimates show, while the value of approved lending fell 1.6 per cent.
Most of the owner-occupier lending fall was driven by a decline in existing property purchase approvals, which fell 3.9 per cent to 46,308. New dwelling approvals fell 0.4 per cent to 2651.
On the other side, approved loans for the construction of new dwellings rose 3.7 per cent to 5641, according to the ABS August figures.