Australians are borrowing less to purchase their homes and investment properties. It is a reflection of consumer caution and falling house prices that the average size of new housing finance commitments has fallen from A$303,900 in July last year to $291,300 in January.The value of first-home buyer loans has fallen from $287,800 to $280,900 over the same period.The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance figures, released yesterday, show an unusually volatile trend in the seasonally adjusted figures. After rising 2.3 per cent in December, the number of owner-occupied housing finance commitments fell 1.2 per cent in January. The value of those commitments fell 2.3 per centThe trend figures show a 0.8 per cent increase in the number of owner-occupied housing finance commitments in January and a 0.8 per cent increase in the value.In trend terms, the market has been growing steadily since March last year. The value of housing finance commitments grew 7.5 per cent over the 12 months to January.Lenders wrote a total of 48,088 owner-occupied housing loans in January, worth $14.1 billion.