New lending to investors nearing all-time highs

The latest Lending Indicators figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have shown that the value of new investor loans increased by 5.4 per cent to $11.7 billion in July 2024.

This represented a year-on-year increase of 35.4 per cent, while the value of owner-occupier loans rose by 2.9 per cent to $18.9 billion, 21.4 per cent higher than in July 2023.

ABS head of finance statistics, Dr Mish Tan, said that investors have continued to see the largest growth over the past year, increasing “more than a third in value since July 2023, from $8.6 billion to $11.7 billion”.

“This is close to the record high of $11.8 billion reached in January 2022,” Tan said.

“The increased investor activity we’re seeing in the lending statistics is mostly because more loans are being approved, and is only partly driven by higher dwelling prices.”

For total housing (seasonally adjusted), the value of new loan commitments increased by 3.9 per cent to $30.6 billion, following a rise of 1 per cent in June, now sitting 26.5 per cent higher when compared to the same period last year.

Looking over at first home buyers, the number of new loan commitments rose by 0.8 per cent to 9,991 on a national level, after a rise of 0.6 per cent the month prior. According to the ABS, this was 12.8 per cent higher than in July 2023.

State by state, the number of new loan commitments in Tasmania rose 8.7 per cent, followed by Queensland by 7.8 per cent, NSW by 2.1 per cent, and Victoria by 0.4 per cent.

Declines were recorded in the ACT, which was down by 11.4 per cent, followed by Northern Territory (13.3 per cent), Western Australia (5.4 per cent), and South Australia (1 per cent).

Meanwhile, the ABS revealed that the value of external financing rose by 4.3 per cent to $16.6 billion during the month; however, it fell 21.4 per cent lower compared to a year ago.

For owner-occupiers, the value of external refinancing rose 3.8 per cent to $10.5 billion, but was 26.6 per cent lower when compared to July 2023, while for investor housing, this rose 5.2 per cent to $6.2 billion, but was 10.6 per cent lower when compared to last year.

[RELATED: Eastern states seeing ‘seismic shift’ of investor focus]

Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.