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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
House price growth is expected to remain fairly subdued for the first six months of 2013, as new data indicate mortgage enquiries were flat across the board in the December quarter.
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According to Veda’s Quarterly Consumer Credit Demand Index, nationally, mortgage enquiries dipped 0.7 per cent during the last three months of 2012.
But while mortgage enquiries remained flat across the board, some states fared better than others.
The Northern Territory, for example, saw a 12.6 per cent jump in mortgage enquiries, while Western Australia enjoyed an 11.1 per cent increase.
New South Wales was at the other end of the scale, with mortgage enquiries dropping 5.7 per cent over the quarter.
Tasmania recorded the weakest performance, with enquiries falling by 7.6 per cent.
Veda’s general manager of consumer risk, Angus Luffman, said mortgage enquiries are a good indicator of home buyer demand and an excellent indicator of housing turnover, with movements in mortgage enquiries tending to lead movements in house prices by around six to nine months.
“Housing markets have, in the majority, been weak since late 2010. There is little evidence in the latest Veda data that the RBA rate cuts are having much effect in reigniting housing turnover with the level of mortgage applications staying flat since halting a two-year decline in the March 2012 quarter,” Mr Luffman said.
“This generally soft mortgage applicant demand suggests that house price growth will be relatively subdued for at least the first half of 2013.”
