The total value of owner occupied housing finance commitments tracked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in March 2017, compared with February 2017, shows the total value (excluding alterations and additions) rose 0.1 per cent in trend terms. The seasonally adjusted series also rose by 0.9 per cent.As far as personal finance was concerned, there was general easing off, with the value of total personal finance commitments falling by 1.3 per cent, down from A$6.625 billion in February to A$6.538 billion in March. Looking more closely at some components of personal finance, the ABS numbers showed fixed lending commitments down 1.7 per cent month-on-month (March 2017 compared to February), while revolving credit commitments fell 0.7 per cent.The value of total commercial finance commitments fell 0.3 per cent, month-on-month, between February and March, although it was more of mixed result, with fixed lending commitments down 1.4 per cent, while revolving credit commitments rose 3.8 per cent.The seasonally adjusted series told an entirely different story, with the value of total commercial finance commitments up by 13 per cent, while revolving credit commitments rose 36.8 per cent and fixed lending commitments rose 7.1 per cent, the ABS calculated.The picture for the value of total lease finance commitments was similar - in raw terms, finance deals rose 1.3 per cent in March 2017, but and the seasonally adjusted series fell 13 per cent, following a fall of 32.1 per cent in February 2017.Another batch of new data, this time from Mortgage Choice's latest Loan Purpose Report, has revealed that homeowners are increasingly taking out loans for renovations. Analysing all loans written by its brokers, Mortgage Choice found loans for renovation purposes rose 62.5 per cent between April 2016 and April 2017 - although this was off a low base. "In April 2017, loans taken out by homeowners for renovations accounted for 5.2 per cent of all loans written through Mortgage Choice - up from 3.2 per cent in April 2016," Mortgage Choice chief executive officer John Flavell said.