New housing finance commitments rose 5.5 per cent in March, with a spike in lending to investors driving growth.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance data, the value of new lending commitments to residential property investors rose 12.7 per cent in March, compared with the previous month, and was up 54.3 per cent over the 12 months to March.
The ABS said the rise in mortgage lending to investors in March 2021 is the biggest monthly increase since July 2003.
The value of new lending to owner occupiers rose 3.3 per cent in March and was 55.6 per cent higher over the 12 months to March.
Loan commitments to owner occupiers were worth A$22.4 billion and commitments to investors were worth $7.8 billion.
The number of loan commitments to owner occupier first home buyers fell 3.1 per cent in March. The fall may reflect the impact of rising house prices or changes to support programs, such as HomeBuilder.
However, the participation of first home buyers was still high, with owner occupier first home loan buyer commitments accounting for 33.7 per cent of all owner occupier commitments in March.