First home buyers accounted for close to a third of all new owner occupier mortgage commitments in March, and their representation is growing.

The value of new mortgage commitments rose 0.2 per cent March, seasonally adjusted. New lending to owner occupiers rose 1.2 per cent, while investor lending fell 2.5 per cent.

The value of new mortgage commitments for owner occupiers has increased in 10 of the last 12 months.

The value of new mortgage lending for investors has fallen for three consecutive months.

The ABS said March loan commitments largely reflected the result of applications submitted in February or the first half of March, before major social distancing restrictions were introduced.

The ABS said: “Some lending institutions reported a slowdown in new loan applications towards the end of March.”

Lending to owner-occupier first home buyers accounted for 31.8 per cent of all owner occupier commitments in March. This is an increase from February, when first home buyers made up 31.2 per cent of owner occupier commitments.

First home buyer numbers have grown 24.7 per cent since the end of 2018.

New lending of A$14.3 billion to owner occupiers was 22.5 per cent higher than the period time last year. New lending of $5.1 billion to investors was 5.3 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Business finance for building construction jumped 25.7 per cent month-on-month to $3.2 billion.