APRIL KEY FIGURES
 | Trend estimates | Seasonally adjusted estimates | |
| Apr 2006 | Mar 2006 to Apr 2006 | Apr 2006 | Mar 2006 to Apr 2006 | |
| |
| Value of dwelling commitments(a) | $m | % change | $m | % change | |
| Total dwellings | 19 096 | 0.5 | 19 135 | - | |
| Owner occupied housing | 13 196 | 0.6 | 13 286 | 1.0 | |
| Investment housing - fixed loans(b) | 5 899 | 0.2 | 5 850 | -2.0 | |
| Number of dwelling commitments(a) | no. | % change | no. | % change | |
| Owner occupied housing | 59 543 | 0.3 | 59 459 | -0.5 | |
| Construction of dwellings | 4 520 | 0.1 | 4 429 | -1.6 | |
| Purchase of new dwellings | 2 735 | 1.5 | 2 776 | 0.7 | |
| Purchase of established dwellings | 52 288 | 0.3 | 52 254 | -0.5 | |
| |
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
| (a) Includes refinancing. |
| (b) Excludes revolving credit. |
Value of dwelling commitments, Total dwellings
| Number of dwelling commitments, Owner occupied housing
|
APRIL KEY POINTS
TREND ESTIMATES
April 2006 COMPARED WITH March 2006:
- Total value of dwelling finance commitments excluding alterations and additions increased by 0.5%, the tenth consecutive monthly increase. The value of owner occupied housing commitments increased by 0.6%, while the value of investment housing commitments rose by 0.2%.
- The number of commitments for owner occupied housing finance increased by 0.3%, while the number excluding refinancing rose by 0.4%.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES
April 2006 COMPARED WITH March 2006:
- Total value of dwelling finance commitments excluding alterations and additions remained virtually unchanged. Owner occupied housing commitments rose by 1.0%. Investment housing commitments decreased by 2.0%, driven primarily by a large fall in the volatile construction of dwellings for rent or resale series (down $189m, -24.7%).
- The number of commitments for owner occupied housing finance fell by 0.5%, while the number excluding refinancing fell by 0.1%.
ORIGINAL ESTIMATES
- The number of first home buyer commitments as a percentage of total owner occupied housing finance commitments rose from 18.4% in March 2006 to 19.1% in April 2006.
NOTES
FORTHCOMING ISSUES
| ISSUE | Release Date |
| May 2006 | 11 July 2006 |
| June 2006 | 9 August 2006 |
| July 2006 | 8 September 2006 |
| August 2006 | 11 October 2006 |
| September 2006 | 8 November 2006 |
| October 2006 | 8 December 2006 |
CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE
There are no major changes in this issue.
INQUIRIES
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Glen Malam on (02) 6252 5040.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
DWELLINGS FINANCED
Value of Dwellings Financed
The total value of dwelling commitments excluding alterations and additions (seasonally adjusted) remained virtually unchanged in April 2006 compared with March 2006. The trend series for total value of dwelling finance commitments increased by 0.5% in April 2006, the tenth consecutive monthly increase.
The total value of owner occupied housing commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 1.0% (up $130m) in April 2006, following a revised 0.9% rise in March 2006. Increases were recorded for purchase of established dwellings excluding refinancing (up $137m, 1.7%), purchase of new dwellings (up $23m, 3.3%) and refinancing of established dwellings ($8m, 0.2%), with decreases recorded in construction of dwellings (down $38m, -3.7%). The trend series in the value of owner occupied commitments increased by 0.6% in April 2006, continuing a run of increases since April 2004.
The total value of investment housing commitments (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 2.0% (down $122m) in April 2006 compared with March 2006, following an increase of 2.1% in March 2006. The decrease this month was due to a fall in construction of dwellings for rent or resale (down $189m, -24.7%) more than offsetting increases in purchase of dwellings for rent or resale by individuals (up $39m, 0.8%) and purchase of dwellings for rent or resale by others (up $28m, 5.8%). The trend series in total value of investment housing commitments increased by 0.2% in April 2006, the ninth consecutive increase, albeit at a decelerating rate, for the fifth successive month.
INVESTMENT HOUSING - TOTAL
Number of Owner Occupied Dwellings Financed
The number of owner occupied housing commitments (seasonally adjusted) fell by 0.5% (down 293) in April 2006 compared with March 2006, following a rise of 0.8% in March 2006. Decreases were recorded in refinancing of established dwellings (down 269, -1.5%), and construction of dwellings (down 72, -1.6%) more than offsetting small increases in purchase of established dwellings excluding refinancing (up 28, 0.1%), purchase of new dwellings (up 20, 0.7%). The number of owner occupied housing commitments (trend) rose by 0.3% in April 2006.
In original terms, the number of first home buyer commitments as a percentage of total owner occupied housing finance commitments rose from 18.4% in March 2006 to 19.1% in April 2006. The average loan size for owner occupied housing commitments increased in April 2006 to $221,000.
Number of Owner Occupied Dwellings Financed Excluding Refinancing
The number of owner occupied housing commitments excluding refinancing (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 0.1% in April 2006 compared with March 2006, following an increase of 0.8% in March 2006. The trend increased by 0.4% in April 2006.
PURPOSE OF FINANCE (OWNER OCCUPATION)
Construction of dwellings
The number of construction commitments for owner occupation (seasonally adjusted) fell by 1.6% in April 2006, following a decrease of 1.9% in March 2006. The trend series increased by 0.1% in April 2006, the seventh consecutive monthly increase, albeit at a decelerating rate, for the fourth successive month.
Purchase of new dwellings
The number of finance commitments for the purchase of new dwellings for owner occupation (seasonally adjusted) rose by 0.7% in April 2006, following a 3.5% increase in March 2006. The trend series rose by 1.5% in April 2006.
Purchase of established dwellings (including refinancing)
The number of finance commitments for the purchase of established dwellings for owner occupation (seasonally adjusted) fell by 0.5% in April 2006, following an increase of 0.9% in March 2006. The trend rose by 0.3% in April 2006, the eleventh consecutive monthly increase.
Refinancing
The number of refinancing commitments for owner occupied housing (seasonally adjusted) fell by 1.5% in April 2006 compared with March 2006, following a revised increase of 0.7% in March 2006. The trend series rose by 0.2% in April 2006.
TYPE OF LENDER (OWNER OCCUPATION)
Banks
The number of owner occupied dwellings financed by banks (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 0.2% in April 2006 compared with March 2006, after an increase of 0.9% in March 2006. The trend series rose by 0.2% in April 2006, continuing a run of increases since June 2004, but at a decelerating rate for the seventh consecutive month.
Non-banks
The number of owner occupied dwellings financed by non-banks (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 1.7% in April 2006 compared with March 2006, after an increase of 0.5% in March 2006. The non-bank trend series increased by 0.8% in April 2006, the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
HOUSING LOAN OUTSTANDINGS
At the end of April 2006, the value of outstanding housing loans financed by authorised deposit-taking institutions was $577,265m, up $3,951m (0.7%) from March's closing balance. Owner occupied housing loans increased by $2,705m (0.7%) to close at $387,366m, while investment housing loans increased by $1,246m (0.7%) to reach a closing balance of $189,899m.
Bank loans increased by $3,962m (0.7%) during April to a closing stock of $543,968m. Owner occupied housing loans of banks increased by $2,702m (0.8%) to $360,740m, while investment housing loans of banks increased $1,260m to $183,228m (0.7%).
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