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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Supply constraints continue to negatively impact home loan demand, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed.
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Over the three months to July 2010, total housing loans dropped 26.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2009.
First Home buyer loans were down by 56 per cent, while trade up buyer loans dropped 16 per cent.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the total number of owner occupier loans fell by 2.5 per cent in Western Australia throughout July, while the Northern territory experienced a 7.8 per cent drop.
otal owner occupier loans increased by 3.9 per cent in New South Wales, 1.0 per cent in Victoria, 1.6 per cent in Queensland, 1.0 per cent in South Australia, and 1.5 per cent in Tasmania.
Housing Industry Association senior economist Andrew Harvey said that from peak to trough the recent fall in new housing loans is not only larger but also faster than that which occurred during the global financial crisis.
“The continuing low number of loans will feed through to a decline in new housing activity and again makes it clear that urgent policy action, from a federal level down, is required to attack supply side obstacles such as slow land supply and costly planning delays,” Mr Harvey said.
“The steep drop-off in new home lending also reconfirms declining affordability trends and helps validate yesterday’s decision by the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates on hold.”
The number of loans for construction fell by 0.7 per cent in July which represents the ninth consecutive monthly decrease.
