FHB approvals hit 10-year high

On a state-by-state basis, the ACT recorded the sharpest month-on-month (June to July) increase in FHB loan commitments (76.4 per cent), followed by NSW (33 per cent), the Northern Territory (27.1 per cent), Western Australia (17.4 per cent), Queensland (17.2 per cent) and Victoria (15.3 per cent).

Tasmania and South Australia were the only states to record declines in the total value of owner-occupied FHB loans, down 14.9 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

The spike in FHB loan approvals also coincided with an increase in the total value of lending for non-FHB owner-occupied borrowers and investors, up 17.2 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively.

Overall, the value of mortgages approved in July rose 5.1 per cent to $17.8 billion – the largest monthly increase since March 2015.

According to Mr Kusher, the improvement in housing finance commitments has “mirrored the jump in auction clearance rates seen over the same period”.

Auction clearance rates have been trending above 70 per cent over the past few months, with the latest data reporting a preliminary clearance rate of 77 per cent across Australia’s combined capital cities in the week ending 8 September.

The pick-up in sentiment has followed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s back-to-back rate cuts in June and July, the federal government’s tax deductions, and changes to mortgage lending guidance.