Australia - Housing finance data for September
- Home loans +1.6% m/m (expected -1.6%, prior was -2.7%, revised from -3.0%)
- Investment lending +4.6% m/m (a huge jump from the prior -0.8%, revised from+0.1%)
- Owner-occupied loan value +0.9% m/m (prior was -1.0%, revised from -1.6% )
That's a huge jump in investment lending, biggest since August of last year
Westpac's initial take (in brief):
Owner occupier finance approvals ... the detail a little softer
- gain was led by strong refi activity - ex refi loans were up just 0.5% and down in value terms (-0.8%mth) implying average loan size was quite a bit smaller
Other detail showed a flat month for construction-related lending.
Separate figures on the value of investor finance loans on the strong side.
- notable as it means the total value of housing finance loans is up in the month with a clear firming since the recent low in April
- Suggests other data pointing to a firming in housing market conditions is genuine and that the bulk of the lift is coming from domestic investor activity
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
