Australian new home loan commitments down 4.3% to $30.76 in August

This is the biggest drop since May 2020.

Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that the value of new loan commitments for housing recorded a fall of 4.3 per cent to $30.76b in August 2021 (seasonally adjusted), driven by a 6.6 per cent drop in new owner-occupier loan commitments. 

Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) President, Adrian Kelly said this is the largest fall since May 2020 and indicates a need for governments to address the issue by evaluating unnecessary taxes that disincentivise the market.

“Having said that, investors have returned to the market with the value of investor loan commitments 92 per cent higher compared to a year ago and the highest seen since the all-time high recorded in April 2015.

“Increased investor loan commitments were seen across most states, particularly Queensland which was up 13.6 per cent, Western Australia was up 7.2 per cent while Victoria grew by 1.9 per cent,” he said.

Mr Kelly added that the number of loan commitments fell 2.1 per cent compared to August 2020, recording the first through-the-year decline in two years.

“The states and territories with greater lockdown restrictions had the largest falls in the number of first home buyer loan commitments,” he said.