This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
The value of housing finance has fallen by a further 1.2% in the January 2006 quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
According to the ABS, in the January 2006 quarter, the value of dwelling commitments was $18.584 billion.
The value of owner occupied housing also fell by 1.1% to $12.802 billion, while the value of investment housing fell by 1.3% to $5.782 billion.
HIA’s chief economist Harley Dale said while the update was a solid one for established buyers, the first home buyer market remained a clear concern.
He added that the number of loans for first home buyers had slipped sharply, as always happened in January, but the number has fallen back to the average for the last fifteen years.
“While we have generally been seeing a modest recovery in the first home buyer market, it has been created by an environment of stable house prices and competitive interest rates.
“We have been in this environment for some time and yet the sustainability of the recovery in first home buyer loans remains open to question and the proportion of first home buyers in the total market are still below the average for the last fifteen years.
“That is a clear pointer to all governments around Australia that not enough has been done to reduce their self-imposed costs on housing,” Dale added.
According to the ABS, finance for residential investment increased by 1.5% but remained 27% off the late 2003 peak.
On a state-by-state basis, total owner occupier finance fell by 3.2% in New South Wales and was down by 2.1% in the Australian Capital Territory, by 1.6% in Victoria, and by 0.9% in the Northern Territory. Finance increased by 8.4% in Tasmania, by 2.5% in Western Australia, by 0.7% in Queensland, and by 0.3% in South Australia.
By Kathryn O’Meara
