The total number of home loans in Australia jumped a seasonally adjusted 2.0 percent on month in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday – standing at 55,053.
The headline figure topped forecasts for a flat reading following the 1.5 percent gain in August.
Construction of dwelling commitments added 1.9 percent to 5,783, while loans for the purchase of new dwellings jumped 5.4 percent to 3,008. Loans for the purchase of established dwellings gained 1.8 percent to 47,194.
The number of first home buyer commitments as a percentage of total owner occupied housing finance commitments fell to 15.4 percent in September from 15.8 percent in August.
Investment lending tumbled 8.5 percent to A$12.322 billion after easing 0.1 percent in the previous month.
The value of owner occupied housing loans added 3.0 percent to A$21.046 billion after rising 4.3 percent a month earlier. Total dwelling loans sank 1.6 percent to A$33.368 billion.
Also on Tuesday, the latest survey from National Australia Bank showed that business confidence in Australia slipped in October, with an index score of +2.
The figure remains positive overall, but it’s down from +5 in September.
The index for business conditions was steady at +9.
Among the individual components, mining, manufacturing and wholesale business were down, while the service industries remained firm.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com