Mortgage Loans, Home Loans, Bad Credit Home Loans

In March 2010, the number of monthly seasonally adjusted housing finance commitments for owner occupation decreased by 12.1% in the Territory and by 3.4% nationally. Nationally, this is the sixth consecutive monthly decrease whereas it is the second consecutive decrease in the Territory. Declining commitments reflect the impact on affordability of strong growth in housing prices across Australia over the past year, four increases in interest rates by the RBA between October 2009 and March 2010 and the cessation of the First Home Owners Boost (FHOB) on 31 December 2009.

Home Loan Numbers

In seasonally adjusted terms, there were 370 housing finance commitments in the Territory for owner occupation in March 2010, a decrease of 12.1% from the previous month and a decrease of 29.9% since March 2009.

In the year to March 2010, a more stable measure of annual growth, the number of Home Loans in the Territory increased by 8.2% to 5565. Nationally, the number of housing finance commitments increased by 9.8%.

Home Loan Commitments

In March 2010, the value of seasonally adjusted housing finance commitments for owner occupation in the Territory decreased by 18.3% compared to the previous month. In the year to March 2010, the value of housing finance commitments increased by 20.7% in the Territory and by 18.7% nationally. In the year to March 2010, the average loan size in the Territory increased by 12.4% to $279 950 and by 8.5% to $272 725 nationally.

First Home Buyers

In March 2010, the number of mortgages taken out by first home buyers in the Territory decreased by 33.9% (in original terms) from the previous month to 41. Nationally, first home owner buyer commitments increased by 2.6% in March 2010. Compared to March 2009, first home buyer commitments declined by 66.4% in the Territory and by 52.7% nationally. In year on year terms, first home buyer commitments in the Territory declined by 6.2% in March 2010 (see chart 3).This reflects the impact on affordability of strong growth in housing prices across the Territory over the past year, four increases in interest rates by the RBA between October 2009 and March 2010 and the cessation of the FHOB on 31 December 2009.