Figures out this week show that after two very good months, home lending in November 2005 posted yet another strong result, up 0.4 per cent to 58,713 loans for the month. This includes 6,852 loans being issued either for the construction of a home or for the purchase of a newly built home - which the building industry is seeing as a sign of good times to come.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the seasonally adjusted total value of loans, excluding alterations and additions, was $18,302 million, a fall of 0.4 per cent, during November. Loans to homeowners totalled $12,843 million, a 1.2 per cent rise while the figure for investment housing fell by 3.7 per cent to $5,459 million.
There were further signs that first home buyers are returning to the market, with 18.3 per cent of all dwellings financed going to first timers, slightly up from 18 per cent during October 2005.
Of the states and territories, Queensland recorded the biggest rise in owner-occupied lending (up 2 per cent) for new and existing homes. This was followed by Tasmania (up 1.4 per cent), the ACT (up 1.3 per cent), New South Wales (up 1.2 per cent) and to a lesser degree by the NT (up 0.6 per cent) and Victoria and South Australia, both up 0.2 per cent. The only fall was recorded in WA, which was down 0.4 per cent.
