The number of new housing finance commitments continued to grow in February but the value of those loan commitments fell for the first time in nine months.According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the number of new loan commitments for owner occupiers rose 0.4 per cent in February, compared with the previous month. Year on year, the number was up 19.4 per cent.The value of new loan commitments for owner occupiers was down 1.7 per cent in February (in seasonally adjusted terms) - a sharp drop from the increase of 2.1 per cent in January. Year on year, the value was up 15.8 per cent.It was the first monthly fall in the value of new loan commitments to owner occupiers since May last year.The value of new housing loan commitments to investors fell 1.9 per cent in February. The value was up 6.3 per cent year on year.The proportion of first home buyers among all owner occupier commitments was 31.2 per cent.The ABS said there was no notable COVID-19 impact on the data, as there was only a small number of reported cases during the reference period.