Approvals of housing loans, for all of the major purposes, has grown steadily since the middle of 2012. Though much of the attention has been on the growth in the value of loans to investors, the value of loans to owner-occupiers for the purposes of construction has grown strongly, while for owner occupier purchases there has been growth, although more modest.
The chart below, from the FWPA Data Dashboard, shows the value of loans, by type, since February 2011.
Just four years ago, in February 2011, loans to investors were valued at AUD284 million. That had risen to AUD849 million by January 2015, an average rise of 31.5% per annum.
Over the same period, the value of loans for owner occupier purchases rose an average 12.8% per annum, which is solid and respectable by any measure. Loans to owner occupiers for new construction – by far the largest value – grew by an average 8.1% per annum over the same period.
The implication of this data, when overlaid with the residential dwelling approvals data and the growth in approvals of dwellings of four or more storeys, is that these properties are, on average, less expensive than free-standing dwellings. That might be stating the obvious, but it also goes to validate the link between approvals, loans and actual building of dwellings.
For further details, go to the FWPA Data Dashboard.
