Owner-occupier mortgage value rises for fourth straight month

The spring selling season has been given a boost, with official ABS figures showing a 1.4% increase in the total value of owner-occupied housing commitments (excluding alterations and additions) on a seasonally adjusted basis for July.

This is the fourth straight month that demand for owner-occupier mortgages has risen, with the value of mortgages reaching $14.37 billion in July compared with $14.17 billion in June and $14.15 billion in May.

The banking sector accounted for more than 92% of all owner-occupier mortgage lending in July.

The value of renovation activity dropped marginally in July falling from a seasonally adjusted $389 million in June to $382 million.

The topsy-turvy demand for commercial finance continued with the value of total commercial finance commitments up 6.1% in July after a 6.1% fall in June.