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New home lending surges to highest level since January 2018
New home lending made another surge in August, despite the fact Australia was staring down the barrel of a recession.
New data out today from the ABS shows $21.3 billion in new home loans were settled in August, up 19.3 per cent year-on-year and the highest monthly figure since January 2018.
Owner-occupiers led the way with the value of new loans increasing by 13.6 per cent from the previous month and 29.2 per cent year-on-year.
Value of new lending
| August amount | Monthly change | Year-on-year change | |
| Owner occupiers | $16.3 billion | 13.6% $1.95 billion | 29.2% $3.68 billion |
| Investors | $5.0 billion | 9.3% $428 million | -4.6% -$243 million |
| Total | $21.3 billion | 12.6% $2.37 billion | 19.3% $3.44 billion |
Source: ABS lending indicators August 2020, released 9 October 2020, seasonally adjusted data, excludes refinancing.
First home buyers – highest number of loans settled in more than a decade
A total of 12,302 owner occupier first home buyers settled loans in August, which is the highest monthly figure since October 2009.
| New loans | August number | Monthly change | Year-on-year change |
| Owner occupier | 12,302 | 17.7% | 37.3% |
Source: ABS lending indicators August 2020, released 9 October 2020, seasonally adjusted data.
How home loan finance has changed since COVID
- 203,780 new home loans were settled in the last 5 months (April to August)
- 137,372 loans have been refinanced in the last 5 months (April to August)
- The value of new home loans in August was 9.2% higher than in March before COVID hit.
RateCity.com.au research director Sally Tindall said the home lending market was proving to be more resistant to COVID than expected, with the value of new loans higher in August than March.
“The country-wide lockdown put the brakes on home sales in May, but since then, the market has rebounded defiantly,” she said.
“While this month’s data might be skewed by a backlog of home loans from the banks, over 200,000 new loans have settled since COVID hit – that’s a pretty decent number considering the turmoil we’ve been through.
“First home buyers in particular have stormed back on to the property scene, with the highest number of new loans settled in more than 10 years.
“That said, we expect the number of new home loans will fall next month as Victoria’s second lockdown flows through to the home lending market in Australia’s second largest state,” she said.
NEW OWNER-OCCUPIER LENDING – STATE BY STATE
| State | Value of new loans August | Monthly % change | Yearly % change |
| NSW | $5.3 billion | 7% | 29% |
| VIC | $4.7 billion | 15% | 24% |
| QLD | $3.0 billion | 14% | 34% |
| SA | $943 million | 13% | 27% |
| WA | $1.4 billion | 20% | 34% |
| TAS | $309.6 million | 37% | 39% |
| NT | $76.8 million | -2% | 33% |
| ACT | $443.7 million | 27% | 36% |
Source: ABS lending indicators, seasonally adjusted data, excludes investors, excludes refinancing, value of new loans.
Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on October 9, 2020. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent home loans articles.
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