Housing Construction Loans To Investors Surge: HIA

Housing construction loans to investors surge in March ABS housing finance figures released show that lending to investors constructing new housing surged in March, said the Housing Industry Association.

“While total home lending edged marginally lower in March, lending to investors in the new housing market jumped by 54.1 per cent,” said HIA economist, Diwa Hopkins.

“This moderated the effect of declining lending that occurred in each of the other components of housing finance.”

Total housing finance in March 2016 was worth some $32.74 billion, with lending to investors constructing new housing accounting for $1.83 billion of this total. The total value of home lending in March 2016 inched lower by 0.2 per cent. During the March 2016 quarter, the value of lending declined by 1.2 per cent to a level that is 3.7 per cent lower than in the March 2015 quarter.

“Today’s housing finance results add to a string of positive updates for the residential construction sector that indicate 2016 will represent another healthy year of activity.”

The number of loans to owner occupiers constructing or purchasing new homes in the March 2016 quarter was higher than in the March 2015 quarter in five of the eight states and territories: New South Wales (+7.6 per cent); Victoria (+3.7 per cent); South Australia (+12.7 per cent); the Northern Territory (+25.7 per cent) and; the Australian Capital Territory (+7.4 per cent). Elsewhere, there were declines over this period: Queensland (-0.9 per cent); Western Australia (-23.5 per cent) and; Tasmania (-31.3 per cent).