Australia’s speculator frenzy continues to gain steam, according to today’s Lending Finance data for November, released by the ABS.
As shown below, the annual value of investor loans in New South Wales (read Sydney) rose for the fourth consecutive month, with Victoria (read Melbourne) – the second hottest market – also registering another increase. By contrast, investor loans in Western Australia continued to retreat:
Nevertheless, rolling annual growth in investor loans has fallen sharply across the board, with Western Australia most deeply in the red, although the tide is clearly turning across each market:
As at November 2016, investors accounted for a staggering 54.7% of total housing finance commitments (excluding refinancings) in New South Wales (Sydney), up 2.3% from July’s low but still down sharply from the record 61.7% share posted in June 2015. Victoria’s (read Melbourne’s) share of investor mortgages also rebounded to 45.4% in November, although it was still down from June 2015’s 52.3% peak. The share of investor lending was never as dominant in the other major jurisdictions, nevertheless the retreat has been halted everywhere except Western Australia:
Putting the two charts together for New South Wales (Sydney) produces the following:
The recent rebound in New South Wales’ (Sydney’s) investor demand is shown more closely in the below charts:
The rebound in Victoria (Melbourne) is similar:
Regardless, specufestor spirits continue to reignite in the key bubble markets of Sydney and Melbourne. Pull your head out of your arse, APRA, and take concerted action now before the situation gets further out of hand.
