The figures show that there was a 0.9% increase in the total number of owner occupier housing loans. Loans for construction increased by 2.3% while loans for the purchase of a new dwelling fell by 4.3% and loans for established dwellings (net of refinancing) increased by 1.2%.
‘The Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, said that overall, this means that the number of loans to owner occupiers for new dwellings was flat during November but the further gain to construction loans is a positive for new home building activity in early 2014.
‘Lending for new homes is up substantially on a year ago and the strong state of the market is also captured by the 1.2% rise in loans for existing home purchase during November,’ said HIA senior economist Shane Garrett.
‘The value of loans to investors rose by 1.5% during November and this is consistent with the new mood of confidence in Australia’s housing market,’ he pointed out, adding that the figures confirm that the continued recovery for residential construction is not just a good news story for the industry but also for the wider Australian economy.
‘There are few sectors of the economy more labour intense than dwelling construction. The strong expansion of the sector brings the potential for greater jobs market support at this time of economic transition,’ he said.
However, the data also shows that first time buyer activity slumped to new record lows as they continue to be squeezed out of the market by subsequent purchasers and investors. According to the data, the total number of commitments increased by 1.1% over the month and is now 15.3% higher than they were a year ago.
The 52,912 owner occupier commitments were the highest since October 2009. Owner occupier commitments for refinances of existing loans rose by 1.7% over the month and are 13.7% higher year on year.
Looking at the total value of housing finance commitments in November 2013, $26.9 billion was lent for housing over the month which was up 1.7% and 24.9% higher than in November 2012.
The average size of loans has also now reached record high levels. The average first home buyer loan size in November 2013 was $298,000, up 3.5% over the year. The average home loan size for a non first time buyer in November 2013 was $322,200, another record high and 3.7% higher over the year.
The housing finance data highlights that there was a continuation of improving levels of demand for housing throughout November 2013. In particular, demand is strongest from subsequent purchasers and investors.
