New mortgages slipped in January: PEXA

New data from the property settlements platform has shown that new mortgages and refinance settlements across four states were mostly down at the start of 2021, from the month before.

In NSW, sales settlements with a new loan in January were down by 26.8 per cent from December, down to a total of 12,903. However it was up by 10.6 per cent year-on-year.

New residential loans declined by 22.2 per cent from the month before, but climbed by 12.4 per cent year-on-year, to 11,931 total.

In Greater Sydney, new loans were down 27.5 per cent from December, and up 15.1 per cent year-on-year to 8,232. This compared to a 25.5 per cent monthly decline and 3.5 per cent annual rise for the rest of NSW, which sat at 4,671.

Victoria on the other hand saw sales settlements with a new loan fall by 18.7 per cent month-on-month, to 13,525, although the total was up by 13.7 per cent year-on-year.

New residential loans dropped by 9.7 per cent from December to 11,609 for January, although the total was up by 25.2 per cent year-on-year.

Across Greater Melbourne, new loans were down by 17 per cent in January, to 10,303, down from 12,412 in December. But the city was up by 21.4 per cent from the previous year.

The rest of the state also dipped from December, down by 23.7 per cent to 3,222 new loans. It was also 5.4 per cent below the previous year’s total.

In Queensland, sales settlements with a new loan in January were at 12,449, down by 21.5 per cent on December, but up 8 per cent from January 2021.

New residential loans were down by 18.2 per cent from December to 10,921, but had jumped by 23.3 per cent year-on-year.

Unlike other states, Greater Brisbane and the rest of Queensland maintained a close to even split in new loans. The city recorded 6,338 new loans during January, falling by 23.8 per cent from the prior month (although it had risen by 13. 5 per cent).

Meanwhile, the rest of Queensland had 6,065 new loans, down by 19 per cent month-on-month. It had slightly risen from the previous year, up 2.8 per cent.

In Western Australia, sales settlements with a new loan in January came to 5,656, declining by 12.9 per cent month-on-month, but they were slightly higher than a year prior (up 4.1 per cent).

New loans in Greater Perth were down 13.9 per cent from December to 4,542, although they were up by 1.3 per cent year-on-year.

The rest of Western Australia with its 1,115 new loans was down by 8.7 per cent from December, but had climbed 17.5 per cent year-on-year.

Refinances

Refinances were also largely down across the states, with the exception of Queensland.

The Sunshine State reported 5,785 refinances during January, creeping up by 3.5 per cent from December and surging 49.9 per cent higher from the previous year.

In NSW, refinances were down 26.5 per cent on December, but 23 per cent higher year-on-year.

Victoria’s refinance settlements decreased by 25.2 per cent, to 8,053.

Western Australia’s refinances diminished by 18.6 per cent from the month before, to a total of 2,428. But it had soared 76.8 per cent higher year-on-year.

Rise of the smaller banks

Across states, non-major banks gained new mortgages, while their big four rivals slipped.

In Victoria and NSW, the non-majors managed to pull ahead of the majors after lagging in December.

In NSW, the smaller banks crept ahead of their major counterparts in net wins, with a net increase of 649 new loans, compared to the majors’ 566 new loans.

However, the major banks had leapt in December with 1,467 new loans, compared to the non-majors’ gains of 160 new loans.

Non-majors in Victoria saw a net rise of 1,518 new loans during January, compared to the big four banks’ 527 new loans.

This was a considerable spike for the smaller banks, following a net rise of 777 new loans in December, while the big four fell from the previous month’s net gains of 1,546 new loans.

In Queensland and Western Australia, the non-majors retained a higher net position in new loans over their major rivals.

In Queensland, there was a net rise of 830 new loans during January at the non-major banks, rebounding from the previous month’s decline down to a net influx of 357 new loans, following 788 new loans in November.

The major stayed in negative net territory, with a net decline of 443 new loans during January, continuing on from its fall of 203 new loans in December.

Non-major banks in Western Australia saw a net rise of 692 new loans in January, largely consistent with the month before.

Meanwhile, the major banks saw a greater decline, with a net decrease of 310 loans.

Refinances also tracked higher at the non-major banks.

In NSW, they had net gains of 1,208 refinances, compared to the big four’s decline of 1,266.

Non-major banks at Victoria were down on the prior month but retained a higher net position over the big four. The smaller banks had a net influx of 996 refinances, compared to a loss of 1,031 at the majors.

In Queensland, refinances at the non-major banks continued to climb, with net wins of 1,121 loans. In contrast, the big four maintained a declining trend, remaining in net negative territory, with a net fall of 1,152 refinances in January.

Western Australia on the other hand saw non-majors rise above the big four, crossing over into positive net territory while their counterparts veered into the negative.

The big four recorded a net decrease of 91 refinances, while the non-majors gained 80 loans in the category.

[Related: Property spending more than doubled in 1921]