The investor market has achieved a new record, with the value of new loan commitments from investors rising 6.1% to $11 billion in January, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Katherine Keenan, head of finance and wealth at the ABS, said investor loans have continued to grow for 15 consecutive months, driving the current value of new loan commitments for total housing to a record high of $33.7 billion.
“Despite record investor loan commitments, the share of investor lending to all new housing loan commitments was around one-third,” Keenan said. “This reflects the rapid growth of owner-occupier commitments over the past 18 months.”
Investor loan commitment was strongest in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, with growth of 22.8% and 11.1%, respectively. Across the states, only Queensland saw a drop at 1.7%, but it still remained at a historically elevated level.
Meanwhile, the value of new owner-occupier loan commitments rose 1% to $22.7 billion.
However, the case was different for the number of owner-occupier loans for first-home buyers. It fell 6.9% at a national level, with only the Australian Capital Territory recording an increase at 25.7%. Now, the average loan size for an owner-occupier dwelling stands at $619,000.
“The strong rise in the average loan size for owner-occupier dwellings in January was due to an increase in the value of commitments, and a largely unchanged number of new loan commitments,” Keenan said. “All states and territories rose to new highs except Tasmania and the Northern Territory.”
