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AFG has enjoyed a record-breaking February despite first home buyers leaving the market.
The aggregator reported its best February on record after processing $3.7 billion of loans, a 27 per cent increase on the previous year.
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However, first home buyers comprised fewer than 10 per cent of all mortgages processed for the first time since June 2010.
AFG said the national average of 9.9 per cent was triggered by a sharp decline in the number of first home buyers in Western Australia, which for years has led the nation.
Three states had month-by-month falls in their share of first-time borrowers: Western Australia fell from 24.2 per cent to 19.5 per cent, South Australia fell from 15.5 per cent to 13.1 per cent and Victoria fell from 11.2 per cent to 10.3 per cent.
Queensland rose from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent and NSW remained steady at 3.4 per cent.
AFG’s general manager of sales and operations, Mark Hewitt, said first home buyer numbers are now clearly falling.
“The overall national figure for first home buyers has for some time concealed the reality that first home buying in NSW and Queensland has been at very low levels since state government grants were withdrawn,” he said.
“Now that the Western Australia figure has come off its very high levels, the issues faced by first home buyers are becoming more apparent.”
