The pace of growth in the home loan market may be slackening. Volatile monthly data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics since the start of the year has disguised the fact that the rise in the value of housing finance this year has been modest.According to the latest ABS housing finance data, the value of housing finance commitments fell 0.8 per cent in May 2014 (in seasonally adjusted terms), compared with the previous month.The numbers have been volatile in recent months. The value of housing finance commitments were up 1.7 per cent in April, down 1.1 per cent in March, up 2.9 per cent in February and down 0.4 per cent in January.From January to May, the value of monthly new housing finance commitments increased from $26.8 billion to $27.5 billion - a rise of just 2.6 per cent.In May the value of loan approvals to owner-occupiers fell 0.7 per cent, while the value of loans to investors fell 0.9 per cent.The number of owner-occupier housing finance commitments was flat, month on month, as it had been in April.The average loan size fell from $323,500 in April to $320,000 in May.First-home buyer participation rose from 12.3 per cent in April to 12.6 per cent in May.