Investors continue to defy APRA curbs

According to the latest ABS figures, released Thursday (12 October), finance for all dwellings increased by 2.1 per cent over August, with owner-occupiers only contributing a fraction of the increase with a 0.9 per cent lift.

Investor home finance increased by 4.3 per cent over the month.

ANZ Research noted that this is the largest monthly increase since APRA’s additional regulation on interest-only mortgages were announced in March.

“However, this only just offsets the large fall in the previous month, and investor borrowing is still lower than it was earlier this year,” the bank said. "In annual terms, investor growth of 6.5 per cent is well below the peak of 26 per cent recorded in January."

ANZ noted that the first home buyer segment again recorded a strong increase.

“The value of first home buyer commitments in August was 40 per cent higher than a year ago. New stamp duty incentives in New South Wales and Victoria have supported jumps of 55 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, in the value of FHB commitments in just two months.”

Meanwhile, the major bank highlighted that finance for the construction or purchase of new buildings continues to rise, posing some upside risk to its construction forecasts.

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