Australia: July housing finance approvals to be up 1.5% - Westpac

Analysts at Westpac note that in Australia, the number of housing finance approvals to owner occupiers edged up 0.5% in June but with the detail more positive, approvals ex-refi up 1.9% and investor loans and construction related loans also posting solid rises.

Key Quotes

“The first round of mortgage interest rate rises associated with macro prudential tightening measures came through in late March with a second round of changes only coming in late June.”

“The July update should provide more clues as to the impact of these measures although its still likely to be too early for June rate moves to impact. Industry data points to a solid lift in owner occupier loans in the July month, some of which may be indirect spillover effects of higher rates for investor loans. We expect approvals to be up 1.5% but the focus will be on investor loans.”