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.
