New home lending inches upwards
Lending for new homes increased marginally during September, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In this period, loans advanced for the purchase and construction of new homes edged up by 0.4 per cent.
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“Despite encouraging signs of increased activity in the housing market, today’s figures continue to demonstrate how restrictive lending is one of the factors holding back activity,” Housing Industry Association senior economist Shane Garrett said.
The total number of new home loans for September came to 8,366 loans on a seasonally adjusted basis.
“This represents the seventh consecutive month in which lending has been stuck at around the 8,300 level,” Mr Garrett said.
Over the past 12 months, however, new home lending activity has increased by 27.5 per cent.
These figures, alongside other indicators, suggest the housing market is beginning to rebound, according to Mr Garrett.
“Other housing market indicators like prices, approvals and sales confirm the industry is entering into a strong recovery,” Mr Garrett said.
