Housing finance dipped in July this year, but is still higher than it was twelve months ago, according to figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The number of first home buyer dwellings financed dropped by 6.7 per cent to a still-high 17,170 (compared to 9,879 in July 2008).
As a percentage of total owner-occupied loans, the number of first homebuyer commitments fell to 25.7 per cent in July from 27.1 per cent in June.
In trend terms, all categories increased. The number of loans for the construction of dwellings was a clear leader, growing 2.6 per cent in July. The total value of dwelling commitments rose 0.9 per cent.
However, in seasonally adjusted terms, all major categories fell slightly.
Investment housing fixed loans experienced the biggest fall in value, at -4.0 per cent, while owner-occupied housing fell by 1.7 per cent.
In the number of dwelling commitments, the biggest drop was felt in `purchase of established dwellings' (-2.3 per cent), then `owner occupied housing' (-2.0 per cent), `construction of dwellings' (-0.7 per cent) and `purchase of new dwellings' (-0.5 per cent). The total value of commitments fell by 2.3 per cent.
Mortgage Choice senior corporate affairs manager, Kristy Sheppard said that the drop in housing finance demand is probably just a blip.
"Winter is usually a slower season while Spring usually sees a large increase in market activity", she said.
"When compared to this time last year's figures this result is still a positive one."
According to Ms Sheppard, Mortgage Choice loan approvals continue to rise and July 2009 was no exception.
"After year-on-year increases in the number of our loan approvals of 18 per cent in May and 30 per cent in June, July experienced an increase of 19 per cent", she said.
"And over the past few weeks our franchisees have experienced a noticeable spike in enquiries from potential first home buyers who are very keen to enter the market before the full First Home Owner Boost expires at the end of this month", she added.