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By Allison Jackson | The Australian | February 11, 2009 02:05pm
HOMELOAN approvals in December raced ahead of forecasts as people rushed to take advantage of very low interest rates.
Owner-occupied housing finance surged a seasonally adjusted 6.4 per cent to 52,974, the biggest monthly increase since May 2000.
The record surge came after borrowing costs hit a 7-year low, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show, reports The Australian.
Economists had expected an increase of 3.5 per cent, according to Bloomberg data.
Approvals rose 1.3 per cent in November.
The total value of housing finance soared 5.9 per cent to $18.6 billion in December, compared with an increase of 0.8 per cent in the previous month.
The value of investment housing loans rose 2.9 per cent to $5.1 billion.
In a breakdown of the data, the bureau said the number of finance approvals to build houses rose 9.9 per cent, while the number of approvals to buy newly built houses increased 15.2 per cent.
The number of approvals for the purchase of established houses increased 5.6 per cent.
Source...
Cheers
Marc
HOMELOAN approvals in December raced ahead of forecasts as people rushed to take advantage of very low interest rates.
Owner-occupied housing finance surged a seasonally adjusted 6.4 per cent to 52,974, the biggest monthly increase since May 2000.
The record surge came after borrowing costs hit a 7-year low, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show, reports The Australian.
Economists had expected an increase of 3.5 per cent, according to Bloomberg data.
Approvals rose 1.3 per cent in November.
The total value of housing finance soared 5.9 per cent to $18.6 billion in December, compared with an increase of 0.8 per cent in the previous month.
The value of investment housing loans rose 2.9 per cent to $5.1 billion.
In a breakdown of the data, the bureau said the number of finance approvals to build houses rose 9.9 per cent, while the number of approvals to buy newly built houses increased 15.2 per cent.
The number of approvals for the purchase of established houses increased 5.6 per cent.
Source...
Cheers
Marc