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ISCOVER
Steven Cross
Lending to owner occupiers unexpectedly rose over June, highlighting the ongoing strength in the housing finance sector.
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Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found the number of dwelling commitments for owner occupied housing rose 1.3 per cent in June.
David De Garis, senior economist at NAB said the statistics were “surprising” given that NAB had forecast much slower growth.
“For the month of June, we’re expecting a small rise around half to three quarters of a per cent.”
The Housing Institute of Australia said the ABS results were positive, however senior economist Andrew Harvey believed a stronger rate of recovery is still needed.
“Following relatively weak data in May, the number of loans for the construction or purchase of new homes rose by 6.3 per cent in the month of June,” said Mr Harvey.
“The outcome is encouraging, but the reality is that new home loans have been grinding higher over the past six months rather than mounting a sustained and significant recovery.
“Unfortunately we needed to see a much stronger recovery in new home lending coming through in the first half of 2012 to signal a significant turnaround in residential construction.
“Across loans for new and established property there has been a modest increase for both first time buyers and trade-up buyers over the last year, although it’s from a relatively low base.”
