Home loan approvals are at year high
The latest results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed renewed confidence in the Australian residential property market, with home lending rising to a record level this year.
The number of housing finance approvals increased a seasonally adjusted 1.3 per cent in the month from June to May - indicating a restored interest among first time buyers and property investors.
Home loans in June equated to $13.8 billion, with loans to first time property buyers rising by 4.3 per cent.
The latest figures come after this week's decision from the Reserve Bank to hold the official cash rate steady at 3.5 per cent.
Citing economic uncertainty stemming from the European debt crisis, economists have picked there is likely to be a further interest rate cut this year.
CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian said in a News Limited report the "encouraging, albeit modest, improvement in the nation's housing sector were largely attributed to the central bank's latest interest rate cut - encouraging more people to climb the property ladder.
Finance approvals to build new houses rose by 4.9 per cent during June, with the number of mortgage approvals to purchase newly built dwellings increasing by 9.7 per cent in the same period.
Western Australia and Queensland both saw a fall in new loan commitments - with the former revealing a drop by 1.2 per cent and the latter down by 1.4 per cent.
