Owner-occupier and investor home loan lending continue to plummet

PHOTO: Home loan lending

Declines in the number of owner-occupiers and investors has seen Australian home loan lending continue to plummet.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal the total value of new loans in March fell 3.2 per cent to $16.9 billion – an 18.4 per cent decline on the previous 12 months.

Despite a 2 per cent increase in the value of new home loans in February, the figures show a downtrend is still very much present in the property market.

New lending to owner-occupiers also reversed the 2.8 per cent increase from February, falling 3.4 per cent to $12.4 billion.

Compared to the year prior, the total value of new owner-occupier home loans across the nation fell 15.2 per cent.

“There were large falls in the value of lending for owner-occupier dwellings in seasonally-adjusted terms in both New South Wales and Queensland in March, after rises in both states the previous month” chief ABS economist Bruce Hockman said.