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Credit demand has shown negligible growth over the past year, while mortgage application growth has now slowed for four consecutive quarters.
Veda reported that its credit demand index for the October-December period was 0.9 per cent higher than the same quarter the year before.
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That came after credit card applications rose 8.3 per cent annually while personal loan applications fell 5.3 per cent.
Four states recorded double-digit growth in credit card applications: Tasmania by 12.3 per cent, Queensland and the Northern Territory by 10.7 per cent, and South Australia by 10.2 per cent.
The other four states also posted growth, with Victoria up 7.5 per cent, NSW up 7.4 per cent, Western Australia up 7.1 per cent and ACT up 3.7 per cent.
Personal loan applications declined in all states, with the Northern Territory down 12.4 per cent, Western Australia down 11.2 per cent, ACT down 8.8 per cent and NSW down 6.9 per cent.
There were also declines of 4.6 per cent for Victoria, 3.9 per cent for South Australia, 3.0 per cent for Queensland and 0.1 per cent for Tasmania.
Meanwhile, annual mortgage growth – which is not part of Veda’s credit demand index – fell to 2.8 per cent, which marked the fourth consecutive quarterly decline.
Five states posted increases – ACT by 6.6 per cent, NSW by 6.5 per cent, Tasmania by 5.2 per cent, Victoria by 2.9 per cent and Queensland by 1.7 per cent.
However, there were declines of 3.9 per cent in the Northern Territory, 3.0 per cent in Western Australia and 2.3 per cent in South Australia.
Mortgage applications are a good lead indicator of future activity in home buyer demand and housing turnover, according to Veda.
“Historically, movements in Veda mortgage demand have tended to lead movements in house prices by around six to nine months,” Veda said.
[Related: Veda reports 52pc rise in ‘high-risk’ credit applications]
