HOUSING FINANCE


HOUSING FINANCE COMMITMENTS

In trend terms, the total value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation) in South Australia in September 2008 was $814m, a decrease of 1.0% from $822m in August 2008. This was the tenth consecutive monthly fall in the value of housing finance commitments (owner occupation). Nationally, the value of housing finance commitments for owner occupation fell by 1.2% from $12,018m in August 2008 to $11,876m in September 2008.

In September 2008, the average home loan size for owner occupied dwellings in South Australia was $205,000, which was significantly lower than the average home loan size for Australia ($251,300). 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 September 2008 ($205,000) was 6.3% higher than that of September 2007 ($192,800).

In September 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers in South Australia was $222,800, which was 10.5% higher than the average loan size for non-first home buyers ($201,600). From August 2008 to September 2008, the average loan size for first home buyers increased by 2.2%, while the average loan size for non-first home buyers decreased by 0.5%.

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