Australian home loans drop 15.5% in September quarter
Key points
- Total housing loan commitments fell 15% to 111,878 in the September quarter.
- The total value of new home lending fell 15.5% to $81.16 billion.
- The downturn was led by property investors responding to tax policy changes and price expectations.
New home loan values tracked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics fell 15.5% to $81.16 billion in the September quarter.
The drop marked the largest quarterly fall since the official data series began in the September quarter of 2002.
"While lending activity fell across all borrower types in the September quarter, the decline was sharpest for investors. Our data suggests that investor activity is being influenced by factors beyond increasing borrowing costs, including the potential impacts of tax changes and expectations of lower house prices," said ABS head of finance statistics Dr Mish Tan.
The value of investor loans dropped 32.3% to $24.71 billion, while new owner-occupier commitments fell 5.3%.
Following the announcement, the broader banking sector monitored credit conditions as total quarterly loan commitments settled at 111,878.
Annual growth in investor loan volumes fell from 24.9% in late 2025 to negative 38.5% this quarter.
First home buyer loan numbers also contracted by 8.6% over the three-month period, finishing 12.3% lower year-on-year.
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