Lending to property investors down

New lending to property investors has fallen for the second consecutive month.

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance data, the value of new investor housing finance commitments fell 0.7 per cent in June, compared with the previous month (in seasonally adjusted terms).

New investor housing finance commitments were down 3.2 per cent in May.

This is a significant turnaround from market conditions earlier in the year, when month-on-month growth in lending to property investors hit six per cent.

The value of new housing finance commitments for owner-occupiers rose 5.5 per cent in June and the value of total housing finance commitments rose 2.8 per cent.

The average loan size increased from A$348,500 in May to $353,800 in June. The average loan size grew by 6.6 per cent over the 12 months to June.

First-home buyers accounted for 15.9 per cent of dwellings financed in June - up from 15.6 per cent in May.