The number of new investment loans fell by 3.7 percent in the March quarter, while new home loans fell by 3.4 percent, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
ABS Head of Finance Statistics Mish Tan said the quarter’s overall fall for all dwellings followed strong growth through 2024 and remained higher (+6 percent) compared to this time last year.
Dr Tan said there were 79,890 new home loans approved in the March quarter, 2854 less than the previous quarter.
She said the total value of new home loans approved was $53.2 billion, a fall of 2.5 percent, with the average loan size falling by $6100 to $659,922.
“While higher than this time last year, the 79,890 new home loans approved in the March quarter was lower than the pre-pandemic quarterly average of 84,405 loans between 2015 and 2019.”
Dr Tan said the number of loans fell in most states and territories, the largest in Queensland, which fell 2.5 percent (-444 loans), and Victoria, which fell 1.1 percent (-270 loans).
She said the total number of home loans refinanced between lenders in the March quarter was 65,030, a rise of 5.1 percent compared to the previous quarter.
“This follows a rise of 12.1 per cent in the December quarter and is the third consecutive quarterly rise.”
Dr Tan said in the March quarter there were 47,218 new investment loans approved, a 3.7 percent (-1,821 loans) fall compared to the previous quarter.
She said the total value of investment loans approved was $32.4 billion, a fall of 0.3 percent, with the average loan size falling by $1277 to $673,033.
“While we have seen two consecutive quarters of falls in the value of new investment loans, it remained just below the all-time high seen in March 2022.”
Dr Tan the number of owner occupier first home buyer loans fell by 4.2 percent (-1,243 loans) to 28,383.
She said there were falls in Queensland (-142 loans), South Australia (-106 loans), Western Australia (-52 loans) and Victoria (-32 loans).
