Housing finance drops for 4th momth
New housing loan finance commitments declined by a further 1.4 per cent in September to $30.3 billion, taking the cumulative decline since the May peak to 12 per cent.
With asking rents now surging at the fast pace since 2008 we're finally seeing some much-needed investor activity being allowed to flow through.
The headline result was heavily impacted by the drop in activity in Victoria, towards the end of the state's long lockdown period, but elsewhere homebuying activity remained very solid.
As the stimulus-driven first homebuyer boom now washes through, we might expect to see a lift in the average loan size for those homebuyers remaining active in the market.
And, indeed, the average loan size in New South Wales has soared over the past couple of years to a record high, with far more modest increases over the past decade elsewhere in Australia.
Source: ABS
Overall, the figures were much as expected, with total housing finance commitments easing back for a fourth month, to sit well below their peak levels.
Activity in Victoria should now rebound as people are allowed to travel out and about again, and to transact more freely.
There's far more detail as ever from the data genius James Foster here.
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CoreLogic's monthly report showed rents up 0.7 per cent in October, following a 0.6 per cent rise in September.
Source: CoreLogic
New listings are now finally on the rise, surging upwards from their mid-September lows.
Source: CoreLogic
Total listings are still 26 per cent below their 5year average, however, reported CoreLogic, meaning that stock on the market is still relatively tight.
