The 4.8% monthly decline in new home lending was driven by a fall of 1.8% in loans for construction and a 10.3% fall in loans for the purchase of new dwellings. The number of loans for existing property, net of refinancing, declined by 1.3%.
The total number of seasonally adjusted loans for the construction and purchase of new homes declined in everywhere apart from the Australia Capital Territory where the increased by 18%. The number of loans declined 0.1% in New South Wales, 11% in Victoria, 1.4% in Queensland, 1.7% in South Australia, 4.1% in Western Australia, 27% in Tasmania and 5.1% in the Northern Territory.
The figures highlight the tenuous nature of the forecast housing recovery in 2013, according to the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia
