The upswing in Australian housing finance commitments remained in full flow accelerating by 4.8% in April ($29.4bn), the sharpest rise since November 2021. Increased demand for housing in line with the pace of population growth continues to drive growth in commitments, despite higher interest rates and rising housing prices. Owner-occupier commitments lifted by 4.3% to their highest level ($18.5bn) since August 2022, while the investor segment advanced by 5.6% to $10.9bn, a high back to March 2022.
Housing finance commitments climbed 4.8% in April, a much stronger rise than the 1.5% lift expected. At $29.4bn in April, commitments are at their highest since June 2022 and up more than 26% on the cycle low from January 2023. This upswing has seen the national median housing price rise in the order of 12% over the period, according to CoreLogic's estimates.
The owner-occupier segment saw commitments rise 4.3% ($18.5bn), their strongest lift in 27 months. The gains were broad-based across upgraders (3.4%) and first home buyers (3.4%), while construction-related lending surged (7.8%) ahead of changes to building codes. Loan volume data were consistent with these increases; loans to upgraders up 1.8%, first home buyers up 3% and construction-related jumping 9% - a lift last seen following the introduction of the HomeBuilder stimulus during the pandemic.
Lending to the investor segment continues to ramp, increasing a further 5.6% in April ($10.9bn) - the 12th rise in the past 15 months coinciding with the cycle low. Over that period, lending to investors has surged by 39.1%.
Refinancing is stabilising following a retracement over the back half of last year. The RBA's rate hiking cycle and the rollover of fixed-rate mortgages to higher variable rates drove an acceleration in refinancing activity from mid-2022.
