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The number of commitments for owner-occupied housing finance fell by 0.9 per cent in October, with the value of commitments falling by 0.5 per cent.
According to the October 2016 figures for housing finance released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 53,769 owner-occupied home loans were made in October 2016, down 0.9 per cent in trend terms from September 2016 (or 0.8 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms).
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However, while total commitments for this category fell by nearly 1 per cent, the value of these only dropped by 0.5 per cent (or 0.8 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms) to $19.68 billion.
The figures follow on from a strong uplift in home loan demand in September, when more than 54,000 owner-occupied loans were written, totalling $19.78 billion.
Speaking of the figures, Mortgage Choice chief executive officer John Flavell said that while he “wasn’t surprised” to see a slight moderation in overall home loan demand, it is important to remember that the total demand remained high by historical standards.
Mr Flavell said: “Prior to May 2015, it was rare to see more than 53,000 home loans approved in one month.”
In all, the October figures show that the value of total dwelling commitments (both owner-occupied and investment housing) dropped by 0.3 per cent between September and October (or 0.2 in seasonally adjusted terms), bringing the total value to $32.2 billion.
However, Mr Flavell said that this was still “another strong result”.
Looking ahead, the Mortgage Choice CEO said he expects home loan demand to rise slightly over the next couple of months.
“November and December are historically very busy months for the property market,” he said.
“Many people want to buy a home and be settled before the festive season, so they tend to start the home loan process in November or December.
“So long as rates remain low and demand continues to outstrip supply, we can expect to see continued growth in property values.”
