Home Loan Lending Continues to Improve in 2013

Home loan lending increased during May 2013, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The ABS reports that the total amount of home loans taken out by Australians in May was up by 2.3 per cent on April's total, in seasonally adjusted terms.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomed the lending figures, noting in particular that loans for people building or buying new homes had increased by 0.6 per cent.

While this may seem a modest figure, it nonetheless meant that the amount of lending for the purchase of new properties in May 2013 was more than 18 per cent higher than just a year earlier.

"Today's figures show that new home lending to owner occupiers is continuing to consolidate the stronger gains made earlier on in the year," said HIA economist Diwa Hopkins in a statement.

Ms Hopkins noted that with the exception of Tasmania, all states and territories recorded home loan figures in the three months to May 2013 that were "substantially higher" than the same period in 2012.

"Looking at new home lending across the states and territories, it is encouraging to see that these improvements have been reasonably broad-based," said Ms Hopkins.

Representing the views of the building industry, Master Builders Australia chief executive Peter Jones said that May's housing finance figures were yet more "positive signs" for the residential construction sector.

"The figures suggest that the recovery is starting to strengthen and is certainly welcome for the industry," said Mr Jones in a statement.

Central to that recovery is the improvement in loan commitments for the construction of new homes, units and apartments.

Mr Jones says that these have now risen for five months in a row, and what we may be seeing is the flow on effects of previous cash rate cuts.

"Home builders are banking on further improvements and for lower interest rates to continue to work to drive an improvement in building activity."

There are lots of things to be anxious about when house hunting, ranging from not being able to afford to live where you most want to, to losing out on a dream property to another buyer.

Another important concern is whether you will be able to borrow enough to fund your property purchase.

These latest housing finance statistics could be encouraging news for those hoping to secure home loan approval in the coming months.