Despite falling for another consecutive month, the drop in loan commitments appears to have eased slightly, after July saw a significant fall of 8.5%.
Katherine Keenan, head of finance and wealth at the ABS, said the value of new owner-occupier loan commitments fell 2.7% in August 2022, and the value of new investor loan commitments fell 4.8%.
"Although lending continued to fall from the high levels of June 2022, the value of loan commitments in August remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels," Ms Keenan said.
"Owner occupier loans in August were 36% higher than February 2020, while investor loans were 70% higher."
There was a 10.4% rise in the number of new loan commitments to owner-occupier first home buyers, to 9,652 - the largest rise since August 2020.
However, the level still remains well below the January 2021 high of 16,330.
Almost all states and territories saw an increase in demand, particularly in Victoria (up 11.9%), Queensland (up 14.3%) and Western Australia (up 13.9%).
"Anecdotal feedback attributed some of the August owner-occupier first home buyer increased demand to the 2022-23 First Home Guarantee." Ms Keenan said.
The value of borrower refinancing of owner-occupier housing loan commitments between lenders rose 2.8% in August, reaching a new record high of $12.8 billion.
This shows borrowers are continuing to seek loans with lower interest rates amid the increase in the RBA cash rate in August.
The average loan size for owner-occupier dwellings, including the construction and purchase of new and existing dwellings, fell at a national level in August - from $609,000 to $589,000.
Though it remained 23% higher than the figures seen in February 2020, the average loan sizes fell in every state - but rose slightly in both territories.
See more: Home loan statistics in Australia
Home loans for new dwellings at a two-and-a-half-year low
Lending for the construction of new homes fell 4.5% to its lowest level since March 2020.
Housing Industry Association economist Tim Devitt said the RBA is at risk of undoing the demand brought about by housing stimulus and removing the construction industry's "soft landing".
“If these trends are sustained, which is expected, then the 2.25 percentage point increase in the cash rate so far will have brought this pandemic building boom to an end," Mr Devitt said.
Personal Finance
The value of new loan commitments for fixed term personal finance saw a rise of 9.5% in August 2022.
Lending for the purchase of road vehicles also rose 17.7% following a 5.2% rise in July, continuing to recover to previous levels after a sharp fall in June.
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