A record one in three new mortgages were sold to property investors as opposed to owner occupiers, during March 2007, according to figures published this week by mortgage broker AFG.
AFG Mortgage Index shows that 32.9 per cent of all new mortgages were sold to investors - the highest such figure AFG has recorded in the four years it has been running the index.
Rapidly increasing confidence in property is being largely driven by a resurgent New South Wales, where 34.4 per cent of new mortgages were sold to investors. Last time New South Wales saw this proportion of property investors was in May 2005.
This figure complements the already strong property investment markets in Queensland, where 31.2 per cent of new mortgages were sold to investors, and the continuing strength of the WA market, where 46 per cent of all new mortgages are for investment purposes.
In Victoria, 25.5 per cent of new mortgages were sold to investors. While this figure is well below the national average, it is still stronger than for the same period last year, when only 18.9 per cent of new mortgages were for investment.
South Australia also recorded a relatively strong month with 27.4 per cent of new mortgages sold to investors, compared to 20.1 per cent the month before.
Mark Hewitt, General Manager of Sales and Operations advised caution against reading too much into a single month's data.
"But it would seem that we're at last seeing the long-awaited return of confidence to the New South Wales property sector, and even Victoria is coming out of the gloom," Mr Hewitt said.
"If this trend continues over the next few months, we could be in the golden scenario where property markets, coast to coast, are powering forward," he added.
AFG Mortgage Index also showed that the average new Australian mortgage now stands at $308,000, slightly more than the previous high of $307,000 recorded for November 2006.
