HOUSING FINANCE


HOUSING FINANCE COMMITMENTS

In trend terms, the total value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation) in South Australia in November 2008 was $855m, an increase of 1.1% from $845m in October 2008. Nationally, the value of housing finance commitments for owner occupation grew by 0.4% from $12,189m in October 2008 to $12,237m in November 2008.

In November 2008, the average home loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia was $208,300, which was significantly lower than the average home loan size for Australia ($254,000). 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 November 2008 ($208,300) was 8.8% higher than that of November 2007 ($191,400).

In November 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers in South Australia was $228,600, which was 12.4% higher than the average loan size for non-first home buyers ($203,300). From October 2008 to November 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers increased by 1.7%, while the average loan size for non-first home buyers decreased by 1.9%.

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