Investor lending rebounds in August

Commenting on fresh figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), CoreLogic residential research analyst Cameron Kusher has highlighted that investment demand is lifting.

According to the ABS, over the month of August there was $31.4 billion worth of housing finance commitments, with $19.5 billion of commitments by owner occupiers and $11.9 billion in commitments to investors.

Mr Kusher noted: “The value of lending to owner occupiers has fallen over two consecutive months while lending to investors has risen for the fourth consecutive month.”

Although below its April 2015 peak, the recent rebound has seen the value of investor lending increase by 10.0 per cent over the five months to August 2016.

However, although investment demand is lifting, “it is not expected to lift to the substantial levels recorded earlier in the current housing cycle,” Mr Kusher said.

“The fading demand from owner occupiers reflects that many have already upgraded or downgraded in the current cycle as much as the fact that particularly in Sydney and Melbourne it is getting a little harder to justify a move in the context of significant transactional costs,” he pointed out.

“When owners look at the cost of upgrading and the market exit cost and entry costs, many are probably now considering a renovation as a better option than moving,” he said.

[Related: Aussie property investors remain bullish]