Finance strengthens
Housing finance beat expectations in rising 2.6 per cent in January, to a new monthly high of $33.7 billion.
Investor loans continued to increase, which is healthy good news given the very low levels of rental supply.
First homebuyer loans continued to run at a high level, though the peak of this trend has now passed.
In the homebuying space, volumes were largely driven by the rebound in reopening Sydney and Melbourne, where life is slowly getting back to normal.
The average loan size consolidated at a new high.
Overall, a solid result, with plenty of appetite for borrowing still in evidence.
Detailed analysis from James Foster here.
Absorption continues
SQM Research reported property listings jumping 6.8 per cent in February, to 214,495.
That's still well down from 257,952 (-16.8 per cent) a year earlier, but as you can see, a marked increase in supply was recorded from a month earlier, especially in Sydney, which saw a jump of nearly 20 per cent.
Overall, this is a sign of a healthier and more buoyant market.
Listings are still well below where they were a year ago, and asking prices rose in the month for both houses (+1.3 per cent) and units (+0.9 per cent).
Aged listings of over 180 days continued to decline - to sit at about half the level they were at a year ago - indicating continued strong stocks absorption rates, according to SQM Research.
