Australia’s speculator frenzy continues to unwind, according to today’s Lending Finance data for July, released by the ABS.
As shown below, the annual value of investor loans in New South Wales (read Sydney) fell for the 11th consecutive month, with Victoria (read Melbourne) – the second hottest market – also retracing, albeit more slowly. Similarly, investor loans in Western Australia and Queensland are also in retreat:
As shown below, rolling annual growth in investor loans has fallen sharply across the board, with Western Australia most deeply in the red:
Nevertheless, as at July 2016, investors accounted for a still-staggering 52.2% of total housing finance commitments (excluding refinancings) in New South Wales (Sydney), although this was down sharply from the record 61.7% share posted in June 2015. Victoria’s (read Melbourne’s) share of investor mortgages also fell to 43.5% in July, down from June’s 52.3% peak. The share of investor lending was never as dominant in the other major jurisdictions; but they too are in retreat:
Putting the two charts together for New South Wales (Sydney) produces the following:
Whereas the turnaround in Victoria (Melbourne) is a bit less pronounced:
While annual investor mortgage demand is falling, there has been a rebound recently in New South Wales after bottoming-out in November. However, it did retrace in July, although it’s too early to read much into it:
