First home buyers flood the market, borrowing $10k more than a month ago
Compared to December 2019, first home buyer loan commitments were 56.6% higher in December 2020, for a total of 15,205 commitments in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) data.
First home buyers now account for 35.9% of all owner-occupied loan commitments, excluding refinancing, in original terms.
In original terms, 17,500 loans were written for first home buyers in December, for an average value of $431,617.
This represents a marked jump from 15,503 loans written in November, which saw an average value of $421,202.
Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest variable interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.
| Lender | Home Loan | Interest Rate | Comparison Rate* | Monthly Repayment | Repayment type | Rate Type | Offset | Redraw | Ongoing Fees | Upfront Fees | Max LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Extra Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5.94% p.a. | 5.98% p.a. | $2,978 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.89% p.a. | 5.80% p.a. | $2,962 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.99% p.a. | 6.02% p.a. | $2,995 | Principal & Interest | Fixed | $0 | $0 | 60% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.93% p.a. | 5.93% p.a. | $2,975 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $395 | 70% | Disclosure |
Purchases of existing dwellings made up the bulk of new loan commitment purposes, according to ABS head of finance and wealth Amanda Seneviratne.
“Loan commitments for existing dwellings accounted for 53% of December’s rise in owner occupier housing loan commitments, while construction of new dwellings accounted for 32%," she said.
The latest lending data comes after both CoreLogic and Domain reported record-high house prices across the capital cities, surpassing pre-COVID levels.
See Also: Is Australia in a Housing Bubble?
The increase in lending wasn't just for first home buyers either - wider owner occupier lending increased to nearly $20 billion, up 8.7% on the month, and 38.9% on a year ago.
investors continued to bounce back, too, up 8.2% on the month to reach $6 billion in loans written.
In original terms, average loan size for investors was nearly $492,000 in December, up from $489,000 in November.
The ABS also says federal and state-based grants, such as HomeBuilder, have contributed to a push in the new construction of dwellings.
Construction loan commitments also grew 17.1% in December, about double the amount seen in June when HomeBuilder was first announced.
Loan commitments for owner-occupied new builds amount to more than $3.5 billion in December, around $500 million more than in November.
However, ABS data from November also revealed about 16% of renovations made in that month would have been eligible for the HomeBuilder scheme.
Business lending for new constructions is also a mixed bag, amounting to $2.13 billion - up more than 100% on November, but still down 28.9% on a year ago.
Aust housing finance (ex refi) +8.6%mom/+31.2%yoy to new record high with owner occs (ex FHBs) +6.3%mom,+14%mom to a record 25% loans,investors +8.2%mom
— Shane Oliver (@ShaneOliverAMP) February 1, 2021
Driven by low rates, incentives & econ recovery
Expect a wind back in incentives followed by tighter lending stds later this yr pic.twitter.com/t1UvZHljln