The number of home loans approved fell the most in five months in July, underscoring ongoing weakness in the nation’s housing sector. The number of loans dropped 1 per cent to 44,804, lower than a downwardly revised 45,278 in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. Economists had expected housing finance commitments to be flat in July.
House prices fell 2 per cent in the June quarter, and more falls are expected in the coming year, especially in the most populous states of NSW and Victoria, National Australia Bank says. ”Employment security is now the biggest concern for homebuyers as interest rate concerns recede,” the report says.
Homes across Australia are now at their most affordable in two years as falling interest rates and a slide in house prices put property ownership in reach of more households. A key housing affordability index that tracks the relationship between household income, mortgage costs and price of housing shows conditions
Australia’s housing sector has called on the reserve bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade. The Housing Industry Association (HIA), which represents the residential building industry, says new