HOUSING FINANCE


HOUSING FINANCE COMMITMENTS

In trend terms, the total value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation) in South Australia in October 2008 was $825m, a decrease of 0.2% from $827m in September 2008. This was the eleventh consecutive monthly fall in the value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation). Nationally, the value of housing finance commitments for owner occupation fell by 0.3% from $12,063m in September 2008 to $12,029m in October 2008.

In October 2008, the average home loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia was $210,000, which was significantly lower than the average home loan size for Australia ($256,400). Over the past year, there has been some growth in the average loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia; the average loan size in October 2008 ($210,000) was 8.4% higher than that of October 2007 ($193,700).

In October 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers in South Australia was $224,700, which was 8.4% higher than the average loan size for non-first home buyers ($207,300). From September 2008 to October 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers decreased by 0.4%, while the average loan size for non-first home buyers increased by 3.2%.

For information on the house price index, please refer to the ' Price Indexes' topic.