Property investor demand is back into the black for the first time in two years amid the rebounding home loan market.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the value of approved home loans in December increasing by 4.4 per cent.
Investor loans, not including refinanced loans, jumped 2.8 per cent in value for the month, with the seasonally adjusted annual growth finishing at 4.9 per cent.
Chief economist at ABS, Bruce Hockman, spoke to Broker News.
“The value of new loan commitments for investor housing, while tracking upward over the past six months, remained down on the March 2017 peak,” he said.
The ABS figures show a 17.9 per cent growth in the owner-occupier segment for 2019 with mortgage volumes rising by 14 per cent.
BIS Oxford Economics principal economist Tim Hibbert said he sees the strong demand for housing credit continuing throughout 2020.
“Price growth in Sydney and Melbourne continues to run strong, with Australia’s other major cities starting to join the party,” he told Broker News.
“With property turnover on the up, the outlook for total housing loan demand looks strong for 2020.”
