Weak investor demand subdues housing finance activity
The number and value of housing finance commitments fell in May, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.ABS housing finance figures released yesterday show that the value of housing commitments fell by 1.4 per cent in May (in seasonally adjusted terms), while the number of loans fell by 1.2 per cent.Lenders provided A$20.2 billion of housing loans in May (seasonally adjusted), compared with $20.5 billion in April. Over the year to May, the monthly value of housing commitments has increased by a little over one per cent.While lending for owner-occupied housing rose a little, investor demand was weak. The $6.5 billion loaned for investment in housing in May represented a fall of 4.6 per cent on the previous month.