Second month of gains for mortgage market

John Kavanagh

Volatile conditions continued in the mortgage market in July, with a big jump in the value of new loan commitments.

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the value of new mortgage commitments rose 8.9 per cent in July, compared with the previous month.

The A$18.9 billion of new mortgage lending was up 11.8 per cent on the same time last year.

The big increase follows a 6.2 per cent rise in June and an 11.6 per cent fall in May – the biggest ever monthly fall in the value of new housing loans.

In July, the value of new loan commitments for owner occupiers rose 10.7 per cent, while new lending to investors rose 3.5 per cent.

The number of first home buyer owner occupier commitments rose 14.4 per cent.

The ABS said the biggest increases were in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The only state or territory where there was a fall was in the Australian Capital Territory.

The value of new personal finance commitments rose 6.9 per cent but was still 11 per cent below the pre-COVID level in February. Year on year, personal lending is down 3.9 per cent.

New business lending was down in July after a strong rise in June.