Household demand for credit fell from a record of A$53.9 billion in the December quarter to $41.9 billion in the March quarter, but it was still one of the highest levels recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
With residential dwelling values falling during the quarter, growth in the value of household debt outpaced growth in household net wealth.
The latest ABS finance and wealth data shows household wealth increased by 1.2 per cent in the March quarter, compared with the previous quarter, and by 35.3 per cent since the March quarter 2020, thanks largely to house price growth.
Household net wealth grew by $146 billion over the quarter to a record $14.9 trillion.
Total household loans grew by 1.6 per cent to $2.6 trillion over the quarter. The bulk of credit demand was for housing loans.
The value of deposits rose by $34.2 billion to $1.5 trillion.