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Mortgage enquiries have reached four-year highs and are forecast to continue rising, according to one credit demand index.
Enquiries rose by 15.3 per cent year-on-year for the fourth quarter of 2013, according to data analytics company Veda.
Four states enjoyed double-digit growth: New South Wales with 22.2 per cent, Victoria with 15.2 per cent, and Queensland and Western Australia, both with 11.9 per cent.
Enquiries in Tasmania grew by 9.8 per cent, in South Australia by 8.4 per cent, in ACT by 4.8 per cent and in the Northern Territory by 2.6 per cent.
Veda’s general manager of consumer risk, Angus Luffman, said mortgage enquiries and house prices should continue rising in the “near term”.
“An extended period of low interest rates is supporting the lift in mortgage enquiries, which have stepped up a level and are now showing the strongest growth since late 2009,” said Mr Luffman.
“We saw a further shift to mortgage applications from older demographics, with more first home buyers leaving the market.”
Veda’s Quarterly Consumer Credit Demand Index measures the volume of unsecured and secured credit enquiries the company receives from financial services credit providers in Australia.