Australian investor loans grow 29.5% YOY despite overall housing loan decline

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed a mixed picture for the housing market in September, with total new housing loans dipping 0.3% to $30.2 billion after seven consecutive monthly increases.

The report highlights a 29.5% year-on-year rise in the value of new investor loans, which totalled $11.6 billion for September.

This figure represents a 1% decline from the previous month but remains just below the record high of January 2022.

Conversely, owner-occupier loans saw a slight increase of 0.1%, reaching $18.6 billion—up 13.1% compared to September 2023.

In terms of first-home buyers, the value of loans dropped by 3.3% to $5.2 billion, yet this figure is still 8.8% higher than the same month last year.

Mish Tan, head of finance statistics at the ABS, commented on the trends, 
"Over the past 18 months, the average size of loans approved has increased for both owner-occupiers and investors. The growth in investor loans has been fueled by a rise in the number of loans being approved."

Tan attributed the sustained high level of investor activity to recent increases in house prices and rental yields.

The number of new owner-occupier first home buyer loans fell 3.2% in September to 9,686, although this represents a 2.0% increase compared to September 2023.

Victoria led the contributions with 3,146 loans, followed by New South Wales with 2,250 and Queensland with 1,845.

The report indicated a 2.1% increase in new loan commitments for fixed-term personal finance, totalling $2.8 billion, which is a 16.1% rise from the previous year.

Lending for the purchase of road vehicles also showed a modest increase of 0.7% for the month.