Loans for established homes increased in April 2007, but dropped for new homes, according to Finance figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The number of loans for owner occupiers increased by 2.2 per cent to 66,016 in April, due to a 2.7 per cent rise in finance for the established market. Loans for construction, however, fell by 1.4 per cent while loans for the purchase of a new dwelling fell by 2.8 per cent.
Over the three months to April 2007 loans for construction eased by 1 per cent and were only 0.6 per cent higher than for the three months to April last year.
Despite a slight drop in the number of first home buyer loans in April 2007, the proportion of first home buyers improved from 16.6 per cent to 17.2 per cent.
On a state by state basis, lending for construction in April was down on last year's levels for the Northern Territory (down by 50 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (down 31 per cent), Western Australia (18 per cent), and New South Wales (6 per cent).
Loans for construction were higher in Queensland (up 35 per cent), Victoria (up 12 per cent), South Australia (10 per cent), and Tasmania (1 per cent).
