Lending for new homes in Australia increased during March, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which shows that lending increased across nearly all categories with loans for construction and purchase of new homes up over 10% compared with the previous month.

There was also an increase in lending for the purchase of existing homes, up 5.9% in value terms in March compared with February and up 6.2% in the first quarter of the year, compared to Q4 2012.

The total number of seasonally adjusted loans to owner occupiers increased by 8% in New South Wales, by 5.3% in South Australia and in Victoria, by 4.3% in Tasmania, by 4% in Western Australia, by 3.5% in the Australian Capital Territory and by 1.8% in Queensland. The number of new loans fell by 1.7% in the Northern Territory.
‘The latest housing lending figures point to a strengthening of market activity. Lending increased across nearly all categories, with the loans for construction and purchase of new dwellings up over 10% in the month. On an annual basis, this represents an increase of over 20%, a very welcome lift in activity,’ HIA senior economist, Shane Garrett, reportedly said.