The number of new investment loans fell by 3.7 per cent in the March quarter, while new home loans fell by 3.4 per cent, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Dr Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics said, "March quarter's overall fall in lending for dwellings followed strong growth through 2024 and remained higher (+6.0 per cent) compared this time last year."
| Total dwellings (seasadj) (no.) | Owner occupier (seasadj) (no.) | Investor (seasadj) (no.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar-15 | NA | 84,847 | NA |
| Jun-15 | NA | 83,342 | NA |
| Sep-15 | NA | 86,821 | NA |
| Dec-15 | NA | 86,399 | NA |
| Mar-16 | NA | 84,637 | NA |
| Jun-16 | NA | 88,777 | NA |
| Sep-16 | NA | 82,558 | NA |
| Dec-16 | NA | 84,158 | NA |
| Mar-17 | NA | 89,516 | NA |
| Jun-17 | NA | 90,137 | NA |
| Sep-17 | NA | 93,190 | NA |
| Dec-17 | NA | 89,513 | NA |
| Mar-18 | NA | 87,166 | NA |
| Jun-18 | NA | 86,742 | NA |
| Sep-18 | NA | 83,271 | NA |
| Dec-18 | NA | 80,926 | NA |
| Mar-19 | NA | 75,314 | NA |
| Jun-19 | NA | 73,323 | NA |
| Sep-19 | 108,132 | 77,005 | 31,127 |
| Dec-19 | 111,958 | 80,454 | 31,505 |
| Mar-20 | 109,574 | 80,041 | 29,533 |
| Jun-20 | 94,426 | 70,436 | 23,990 |
| Sep-20 | 119,188 | 90,040 | 29,148 |
| Dec-20 | 135,006 | 103,125 | 31,882 |
| Mar-21 | 156,494 | 118,863 | 37,631 |
| Jun-21 | 157,079 | 114,172 | 42,907 |
| Sep-21 | 157,213 | 107,777 | 49,435 |
| Dec-21 | 155,767 | 103,353 | 52,414 |
| Mar-22 | 152,684 | 100,151 | 52,533 |
| Jun-22 | 140,831 | 92,336 | 48,495 |
| Sep-22 | 128,867 | 85,403 | 43,463 |
| Dec-22 | 117,222 | 77,679 | 39,543 |
| Mar-23 | 110,169 | 73,691 | 36,478 |
| Jun-23 | 114,480 | 76,144 | 38,336 |
| Sep-23 | 114,724 | 74,581 | 40,143 |
| Dec-23 | 122,908 | 79,615 | 43,293 |
| Mar-24 | 119,944 | 76,549 | 43,395 |
| Jun-24 | 129,872 | 81,152 | 48,720 |
| Sep-24 | 132,484 | 81,316 | 51,169 |
| Dec-24 | 131,783 | 82,744 | 49,039 |
| Mar-25 | 127,108 | 79,890 | 47,218 |
All series exclude refinancing.
Some series only commenced collection in the September quarter 2019 with the introduction of the Economic and Financial Statistics collection.
Loan commitments for dwellings includes loans for the purpose of 'Construction of new dwellings', 'Purchase of new dwellings' and 'Purchase of existing dwellings'. 'Residential land' and 'Alterations and additions' are available as separate series.
| Total dwellings (seasadj) ($b) | Owner occupier (seasadj) ($b) | Investor (seasadj) ($b) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar-15 | 58.178 | 32.232 | 25.947 |
| Jun-15 | 58.331 | 32.221 | 26.11 |
| Sep-15 | 59.716 | 36.487 | 23.229 |
| Dec-15 | 55.701 | 36.753 | 18.949 |
| Mar-16 | 53.261 | 34.685 | 18.576 |
| Jun-16 | 56.22 | 35.94 | 20.28 |
| Sep-16 | 56.558 | 34.534 | 22.024 |
| Dec-16 | 60.043 | 35.637 | 24.406 |
| Mar-17 | 62.641 | 37.473 | 25.168 |
| Jun-17 | 61.044 | 38.16 | 22.884 |
| Sep-17 | 61.449 | 39.596 | 21.853 |
| Dec-17 | 59.39 | 38.966 | 20.425 |
| Mar-18 | 57.769 | 38.738 | 19.03 |
| Jun-18 | 56.709 | 38.924 | 17.785 |
| Sep-18 | 53.975 | 37.032 | 16.943 |
| Dec-18 | 50.32 | 35.047 | 15.273 |
| Mar-19 | 46.224 | 32.577 | 13.647 |
| Jun-19 | 45.292 | 32.374 | 12.918 |
| Sep-19 | 49.985 | 35.491 | 14.494 |
| Dec-19 | 54.413 | 39.264 | 15.149 |
| Mar-20 | 54.537 | 39.778 | 14.759 |
| Jun-20 | 47.145 | 34.99 | 12.155 |
| Sep-20 | 58.314 | 44.046 | 14.268 |
| Dec-20 | 67.505 | 51.452 | 16.053 |
| Mar-21 | 80.616 | 60.549 | 20.068 |
| Jun-21 | 85.96 | 62.213 | 23.747 |
| Sep-21 | 89.545 | 61.92 | 27.625 |
| Dec-21 | 91.209 | 60.731 | 30.478 |
| Mar-22 | 93.437 | 60.811 | 32.627 |
| Jun-22 | 85.424 | 56.166 | 29.258 |
| Sep-22 | 76.683 | 51.208 | 25.475 |
| Dec-22 | 69.444 | 46.229 | 23.215 |
| Mar-23 | 65.861 | 43.544 | 22.318 |
| Jun-23 | 66.93 | 44.173 | 22.757 |
| Sep-23 | 68.973 | 44.517 | 24.456 |
| Dec-23 | 75.025 | 48.43 | 26.595 |
| Mar-24 | 74.972 | 47.007 | 27.965 |
| Jun-24 | 81.782 | 50.95 | 30.832 |
| Sep-24 | 85.932 | 52.577 | 33.356 |
| Dec-24 | 87.025 | 54.511 | 32.514 |
| Mar-25 | 85.599 | 53.169 | 32.43 |
All series exclude refinancing.
Loan commitments for dwellings includes loans for the purpose of 'Construction of new dwellings', 'Purchase of new dwellings' and 'Purchase of existing dwellings'. 'Residential land' and 'Alterations and additions' are available as separate series.
In March quarter 2025 there were 79,890 new home loans approved, a 3.4 per cent (-2,854 loans) fall compared to the previous quarter. The total value of new home loans approved was $53.2 billion, a fall of 2.5 per cent (-$1.3 billion). The average loan size fell by $6,100 to $659,922.
"While higher than this time last year, the 79,890 new home loans approved in the March quarter was lower than the pre-pandemic quarterly average of 84,405 loans between 2015 and 2019", Dr Tan said.
The number of loans fell in most states and territories, the largest in Queensland, which fell 2.5 percent (-444 loans), and Victoria, which fell 1.1 per cent (-270 loans).
The total number of home loans refinanced between lenders in the March quarter was 65,030, a rise of 5.1 per cent compared to the previous quarter. This follows a rise of 12.1 per cent in the December quarter and is the third consecutive quarterly rise.
In March quarter there were 47,218 new investment loans approved, a 3.7 per cent (-1,821 loans) fall compared to the previous quarter. The total value of investment loans approved was $32.4 billion, a fall of 0.3 per cent (-$84 million). The average loan size fell by $1,277 to $673,033.
"While we have seen two consecutive quarters of falls in the value of new investment loans, it remained just below the all-time high seen in March 2022", Dr Tan said.
The fall in the number of investment loans was driven by Western Australia, which fell by 4.3 per cent (-267 loans) and South Australia, which fell by 3.4 per cent (-121 loans).
The number of owner occupier first home buyer loans fell by 4.2 per cent (-1,243 loans) to 28,383. There were falls in Queensland (-142 loans), South Australia (-106 loans), Western Australia (-52 loans) and Victoria (-32 loans).
