Owner-occupier lending bumped up in November: ABS

The latest Lending Indicators data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed that the value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for housing rose 10.1 per cent through the year to November 2023, with the number of commitments also increasing by 7.3 per cent.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the value of new loan commitments for owner-occupier housing rose 0.5 per cent to $17.9 billion, sitting 10.6 per cent higher when compared to the same period last year.

Investor housing also rose 1.9 per cent to $9.7 billion and was 18 per cent higher than the same period in 2022.

In total, the value of new loan commitments for housing rose 1 per cent to $27.6 billion following the 7.1 per cent rise recorded in October, sitting 13.1 per cent higher when compared to a year ago.

New owner-occupier first home buyer loan commitments rose 3.5 per cent in November 2023, 20.3 per cent higher than in 2022, with the value rising 2.8 per cent in November, 25.8 per cent higher than a year prior.

The value of external refinancing for total housing rose 0.7 per cent in November 2023 (seasonally adjusted) to $17.5 billion, however, this was 11.9 per cent lower than the same period in 2022, according to the ABS.

Owner-occupier housing rose 1.5 per cent to $11.6 billion and was 15.5 per cent lower than in 2022, while investor housing fell 0.7 per cent to $5.9 billion, sitting 3.9 per cent lower compared to a year prior.

The number of refinanced owner-occupier loan commitments in November reached 21,482, up 4.2 per cent. According to the ABS, the November level approached what was seen in March 2022, just prior to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) beginning its series of cash rate hikes.

Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics, said: “November saw continued growth in the value and number of new owner-occupier dwelling loan commitments, which rose 0.1 per cent and 1.0 per cent in the month respectively.

“The growth in owner-occupier and investor lending seen through 2023 was driven by the three states with the largest populations. For both owner-occupiers and investors, New South Wales saw the most growth.”

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) economist Stephen Wu stated: “The uptrend over recent months is consistent with rising turnover in the housing market.

“An increase in new listings is adding to the available housing stock. The RBA’s 25 basis point increase [in] November rate hike will have further reduced home borrower capacity. But sales volumes have increased, with strong population growth and more active foreign buyers supporting the market.”

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