The number of Australian housing loans approved fell to a new 18-month low (Sydney Morning Herald)
Banks` tightening of lending policies and restrictions on investor lending continued to weigh on Australia`s housing market, sending the number of home loans approved to a new 18-month low in April.
Data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed that bank new home loans remained weak in April, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Excluding refinancing, home loans were approved at just 35, 304, the lowest level since October 2016.
Meanwhile, lending by investors fell 0.9 percent in April, down 15 percent from a year earlier, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Homeowners` loans were approved on a monthly basis up 0.2 percent, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier.
In fact, the number of housing loans approved in April was slightly less severe than the market had expected. However, economists believe the data still highlight the weakness in the housing market, which is expected to continue in the short term.
Hasan (Matthew Hassan), an economist at Western Pacific Bank (Westpac), said new home loans were expected to fall even further in the coming months, taking into account the recent decline in the closing rate of residential auctions over the weekend.
Gladwell (Daniel Gradwell), economist at ANZ Bank (ANZ), said the market, which has the largest share of investors in New and Victoria, is leading the recent downward trend in home prices, with the most significant drop in investor loans in both states.
Gladwell revealed last week that ANZ Bank had re-cut its home price forecast because it had fallen "relatively above expectations" and would last longer than banks had previously expected.
Rilden (Tim Reardon), chief economist at (Housing Industry Association), the Australian housing industry association, said investor lending fell to a two-year low as a result of a number of crackdowns on investor policy. So far, Australian investor lending has fallen 27.4% from its peak in mid-2015.
In a recent round of bank profit forecasts, Australia`s leading banks forecast a slowdown in lending growth in 2018. (Shayne Elliott), ANZ`s chief executive, also highlighted the possibility that the Royal Commission of Inquiry could make it harder for some clients to get home loans.
