ABS data reveals more Australians are taking on a mortgage

Australians’ push to own a home has intensified with new data revealing mortgage lending has surged.

Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal new home loan commitments in March rose 5.5 per cent on the previous month, demonstrating the buying boom for mortgages is persisting.

The total value of new home loans committed during the month sat at $30.2 billion, while investor-only loans rose 12.7 per cent compared with February to a value of $7.8b.

ABS head of finance and Wealth Katherine Keenan flagged March’s rise in investor lending as the largest recorded gain since July 2003.

“The value of new loan commitments for owner-occupier housing rose 3.3 per cent to $22.4bn in March 2021, 55.6 per cent higher than March 2020,” she said.

“This rise was driven by an 8.8 per cent rise in the value of loan commitments for existing dwellings.”

The value of new owner-occupier loans for new housing fell 14.5 per cent as a result of the tapering of HomeBuilder grants that came into effect on January 1.

NSW, Victoria and Queensland accounted for the majority of the rise in investor loans, while most new owner-occupier loans committed during the period were for homes in NSW.

Personal finance loans rose 2.1 per cent over the period.