The home loan market is growing again, after several months of decline following the Reserve Bank's November interest rate increase. The number of loans approved in May for owner-occupied housing rose by 4.4 per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis, and the value of all loans rose by 2.9 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.Market activity peaked most recently at 51,294 loans, in December, and then fell almost 12 per cent to a low of 45,304 loans in March. The turnaround started in April and continued into May, when 49,437 loans were sold.The strongest area of growth has been in refinancing. The number of borrowers refinancing rose by 11.4 per cent into May, after rising by 8.1 per cent in April.Home owners have been taking advantage of some aggressive price cuts by major lenders, as they continue to reduce their borrowing commitments.The number of bank loans increased by 12.2 per cent over the past two months, while the number of "non-bank" loans fell by 1.3 per cent.The proportion of first-home buyers in the market slipped from 16 per cent in March to 15.8 per cent in April, and to 15.4 per cent in May.