First home buyers at a six-year high

First home buyers have claimed their biggest slice of the housing finance pie in almost six years, despite an overall slide in today’s ABS housing finance figures.

The seasonally adjusted figures for June show an overall drop in new lending of 1.6 per cent from the previous month with falls from both investors and owner-occupiers.

While housing finance continues its downward trend, first home buyers have capitalised on a less-crowded market, recording 18.1 per cent of new home loans in June – the highest proportion since October 2012.

The average loan size for first home buyers has also hit a record high of $349,800.

RateCity research director Sally Tindall said today’s data showed first home buyers were taking advantage of a cooling market.

“First home buyers are finally getting some time in the sun. There’s space in the market for them to find their feet without having to go toe-to-toe with cashed-up investors.

“While a lot of investors have sworn off property until the bottom of the market hits, first home buyers who are looking for a place to call home for the next five or 10 years are often more focussed on the long game.

Today’s ABS housing finance figures also show non-bank lenders are continuing to gain market share from the banks.

Non-banks have increased the value of new owner-occupier loans by 13.37 per cent, year-on-year, while banks recorded a drop of 0.81 per cent in the value of new loans over the same period.

“The banks are throwing everything at potential new customers to attract new business and put a stop to this slide. It will be interesting to see how far they go in order to protect their market share,” she said.

Key statistics:

ABS housing finance statistics, June 2018, seasonally adjusted

Compare home loans in Australia