Housing demand still surging

11 April, 2005

Australian's appetite for property refused to abate, with new figures today showing continued strong demand for housing.

The value of housing finance jumped five per cent in February, fuelled by continuing demand for homes and investment properties, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

The figures were well above market expectations.

The ABS said the total value of dwelling commitments rose five per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis, to $17.91 billion.

Loans for owner-occupied homes rose five per cent to $11.83 billion, while loans for investment properties grew 4.9 per cent to $6.07 billion.

The February data occurred before last month's 25 basis point rise in official interest rates to 5.5 per cent.

The number of housing finance commitments for owner occupied housing was up 3.7 per cent to 55,466. The number excluding refinancing increased by 3.9 per cent.

The construction of dwellings increased 2.3 per cent to 4,510.

The purchase of new dwellings rose 5.2 per cent to 2,049, while the purchase of established homes grew 3.8 per cent to 48,907.