The national residential property market received some good news recently, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics' release of its Housing Finance data for September 2011. These figures showed a lift in the number of home loans approved across the country over the month, which could potentially indicate a strengthening of the housing market.
According to figures released by the ABS, September saw the total number of owner occupied housing commitments increase by 2.2 per cent (seasonally adjusted).
In response to the lift in approvals, Century 21 Owner and Chairman, Charles Tarbey, said that the increase was pleasing to see, particularly given that concerns for global markets heightened over the course of September. He pointed out that such concerns saw many prospective buyers hesitant to make a property purchase.
While Charles noted that the data needed to be viewed with caution, he was also hopeful that the upwards trend in loan approvals would continue over the remaining moths of the year, with the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to cut rates in November potentially helping buyers to regain confidence about making a real estate decision.
The ABS data showed a rise in finance acquired by first home buyers – the number of first home buyer commitments as a proportion of total owner occupied housing finance commitments rose to 16.4 per cent (September) from 15.4 per cent (August).
While the value of dwelling commitments increased by 1.0 per cent (seasonally adjusted), the ABS reported that the average loan size for all owner occupied housing commitments fell by $5,400.
There are certainly a number of factors that may continue to hold buyers back from making a property purchase decision – according to Charles these include uncertainty surrounding Europe's financial markets and affordability concerns.
However with the prospect of rates moving south once again, along with the preference of many to have their property transactions done and dusted before Christmas, Charles feels that there is certainly a chance that we could see some recovery in the housing market before the year is out.
For those people considering a purchase and who are in a position to buy, there could well be some value in exploring the new housing finance options on offer as a result of the November reduction in interest rates – prospective borrowers may find that more suitable products for their circumstances have now become available.
For more information about the residential property market in your local area please feel free to stop by one of the hundreds of Century 21 Australia real estate offices around the country to speak with an experienced property professional.