The total number of new home loans is Australia issued in May added a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, standing at 53,951.
That beat forecasts for a decline of 2.0 percent following the 1.6 percent increase in April.
The number of new dwellings constructed jumped 4.3 percent to 6,121, while the number of new dwellings purchased added 1.6 percent to 2,766 and number of established dwellings purchased gained 0.5 percent to 45,064.
The value of home loans was up 2.9 percent in May to A$32.712 billion. That follows the 1.6 percent gain in the previous month.
Investment lending gained 2.9 percent to A$13.494 billion following the 6.4 percent jump a month earlier.
The value of commitments for owner-occupied housing advanced 3.1 percent to A$19.218 billion.
Also on Tuesday, National Australia Bank said its index of business sentiment climbed to +7 in May from +3 in April.
The May reading marks a nine-month high for the index, due largely to a reduction in interest rates, analysts say.
However, confidence in the mining sector continued to plummet – sinking to -30.
The index for business conditions also improved, rising to +7 from +4 in the previous month – marking a seven-month high.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com