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An uptick in owner-occupier loans is welcome, but not enough cause for celebration, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).
The national advocacy body was quick to note that the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed owner-occupier loan activity making a return to pre-pandemic levels – a marker of relative normalcy – with the figure rising over the previous month.
But while that news was encouraging, REIA president Hayden Groves said that the figure still remained “worryingly low for future trends”.
The number of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings rose 2.5 per cent in August 2023, but remained 12.3 per cent lower compared to last year, according to the ABS.
Record low interest rates not long after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic saw new owner-occupier loans hit a peak of over 40,000 in the month of January 2021, before rate rises beginning in mid-2022 sent them plummeting to nearly half that figure in February 2023. In August 2023, 25,404 new owner-occupier loans were issued.
Of note during the month was the number of refinancing loan commitments, which continued a downward trend.
According to Mr Groves, this signalled “there is renewed confidence that interest rates are stable”.
The ABS reported that the number of refinanced owner-occupier loan commitments between lenders fell 5.4 per cent to 26,539 in August, after reaching an all-time high the previous month as mortgagors sought out the best deal available.
Mr Groves noted that building approvals are also increasing, with the total number of dwellings approved rising 7 per cent in August, in seasonally adjusted terms, following a 7.4 per cent fall in July.
Mr Groves opined that the latest figures showed more needed to be done to support mortgage holders through the cost-of-living crisis.
“The REIA Housing Affordability Report shows we are in the most challenging lending conditions for home owners and investors since the global financial crisis. To help generate more investment and provide the support needed, government needs to carefully consider the needs of those affected as they have done in the same way for renters,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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