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The latest Lending Indicator figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have shown the number of new investor loan commitments for dwellings fell 3.7 per cent over the March quarter 2025.
This equated to 47,218 new investment loans approved, down by 1,821 loans on the December quarter 2024. Additionally, the total value of investment loans approved was $32.4 billion, showing a fall of 0.3 per cent ($84 million), while the average loan size fell by $1,277 to $673,033.
Dr Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics, said: “While we have seen two consecutive quarters of falls in the value of new investment loans, it remained just below the all-time high seen in March 2022.”
Western Australia drove the quarterly decline in new investor lending, falling by 4.3 per cent (267 loans), along with South Australia that recorded a drop of 3.4 per cent (121 loans).
For new home loans to owner-occupiers, there were 79,890 loans approved over the March quarter, a drop of 3.4 per cent (2,854 loans) when compared to the previous quarter, with a value drop of 2.5 per cent (down $1.3 billion) to $53.2 billion. The average loan size also fell to $659,922, down by $6,100.
The largest falls in the number of new loans were recorded in Queensland (down 2.5 per cent of 444 loans) and Victoria (down by 1.1 per cent or 270 loans).
“While higher than this time last year, the 79,890 new home loans approved in the March quarter were lower than the pre-pandemic quarterly average of 84,405 loans between 2015 and 2019”, Tan said.
However, the total number of home loans refinanced between lenders over the quarter was 65,030, showing a rise of 5.1 per cent, following a 12.1 per cent rise in the December quarter, marking the third consecutive quarterly increase.
New owner-occupier first home buyer loans also fell, down by 4.2 per cent (1,243 loans) to 28,383, driven by Queensland (down by 142 loans), South Australia (106 loans), Western Australia (52 loans), and Victoria (32 loans).
Overall, the total number of new loan commitments dropped by 3.5 per cent over the quarter, with a total value decrease of 1.6 per cent.
“March quarter’s overall fall in lending for dwellings followed strong growth through 2024 and remained higher (+6.0 per cent) compared to this time last year,” Tan said.
The ABS’ data coincides with research recently released through PEXA’s Mortgage Insights report for the March quarter 2025, which revealed that 118,320 new loans were settled throughout the quarter, representing a decline of 18.9 per cent on the December quarter 2024, but a 4.4 per cent rise on the same period last year.
ANZ's economics team noted that Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) data has suggested that sales volumes were soft over April, along with a "typical pre-election drop off in activity" and the "uncertain global backdrop [is] potentially weighing on the market".
"Recent progress around trade negotiations may help support activity in the property sector," they said.
[RELATED: New loans drop quarterly, but annual growth remains positive]
