New home lending stays static down under

New home lending stayed static in Australia in September, according to new figures from ABS.

The number of loans advanced for the purchase and construction of new build homes edged up only marginally by 0.4 per cent to 8,366 - the seven month in a row that lending has remained at the 8,300 level, the Housing Industry notes.

 “Despite encouraging signs of increased activity in the housing market, today’s figures continue to demonstrate how restrictive lending is one of the factors holding back activity,” comments Shane Garrett.

“However, activity is considerably stronger than this time last year. The annual increase in lending for home construction was up 6.3 per cent during the September 2013 quarter. Lending activity for new home purchases was 27.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. Other housing market indicators like prices, approvals and sales confirm that the industry is entering into a strong recovery.”