This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
NEW mortgage sales tumbled 9.1% in the month of July, however first home buyers have returned, according to AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker.
The AFG Mortgage Index published shows mortgage volumes have been in an almost steady decline since March this year, when the company arranged $2.76 billion in mortgages nationally.
The slowing trend for mortgage sales was consistent across most states although Victoria held up strongly until July, when sales there also dipped by 10%.
New mortgage sales in July are 15.1% lower when compared to July 2009.
AFG general manager sales & operations Mark Hewitt said six interest rate rises and an environment of economic uncertainty slowed down the market significantly during the first half of the year.
“That said, we did see a pickup in activity towards the end of the month, and we expect stronger figures as we move into spring,” he added.
A surprise during the month was the return of first home buyer activity, which increased to 11.1% from 9.5% in June for properties around and below $500,000. On the other hand, mid to upper levels of property markets are slowing down.
The volume of mortgages arranged for first home buyers increased by 6.25% from $192 million in June to $204 million, with large jumps recorded for QLD (23% up from $30 million in June to $37 million in July) and NSW (9.8% up from $61 million in June to $67 million in July).
First home buying activity rose slightly in WA ($43 million in June to $45 million in July), but declined in South Australia ($6.1 million in June to $5.4 million in July) and Victoria ($51 million in June to $47 million in July).
Australian Property Journal
