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Australians’ appetite for mortgages shows no sign of abating, with March figures showing a 10.8 per cent increase in demand year-on-year.
According to the Veda Quarterly Consumer Demand Index, NSW led the way in demand for new mortgages in the March quarter with massive 19 per cent growth year-on-year. Tasmania followed (with 13.9 per cent), while Queensland (10.5 per cent) and Victoria (10.4 per cent) also showed double-digit growth.
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However, the growth was tempered by the smaller states and territories, which all saw less than three per cent growth, while South Australia actually recorded negative growth of -0.1 per cent.
The 10.8 per cent growth in demand over the year to March was also down on the record of 14.8 per cent set in the last three months of 2013.
Speaking on the results, Veda’s general manager of consumer risk, Angus Luffman, said the demand for mortgages over the first three months of 2014 had actually eased in all states except the Northern Territory and Tasmania.
Mr Luffman said Western Australia was the worst performing state for new mortgages after demand there fell from 11.2 per cent in the last quarter of last year to just 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 which, he added, “may be an early sign that the Perth housing market is set to cool in the months ahead”.
The Veda Quarterly Consumer Demand Index results have historically led movements in house prices by six to nine months, with mortgage applications a good predictor of buyer demand and housing turnover.
The index also measures personal loan applications, which remained flat in the quarter to March, and credit card applications, which rose 6.4 per cent in the quarter, up from 2.1 per cent in December 2013.
