Australia Q1 Home Loans Drop 2.5% QoQ

The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings in Australia rose 4.7% quarter-on-quarter to a 3-1/2-year high of AUD 58.2 billion in Q3 2025, accelerating from a downwardly revised 2.2% gain in the previous quarter. Growth was driven by stronger demand among non–first-home buyers (6.2% vs 4.7% in Q2), while lending to first-home buyers slowed sharply (up 1.1% vs 5.5%). On an annual basis, owner-occupier lending jumped 9.8%. Meanwhile, investment lending for housing soared 17.6% to AUD 39.8 billion in Q3, sharply picking up from an upwardly revised 2.6% increase in the prior period. Year-on-year, investment loan values surged 18.7%.

The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings in Australia rose 2.4% quarter-on-quarter to AUD 54.7 billion in Q2 2025, rebounding from a downwardly revised 1.8% decline in Q1. The recovery was driven by gains in both first-home buyer loans (5.7% vs -3.0% in Q1) and non-first-home buyer loans (4.4% vs 1.4%). On an annual basis, owner-occupier lending surged 7.4%. Meanwhile, investment lending for homes increased 1.4% to AUD 32.9 billion, improving from an upwardly revised flat reading in the previous quarter. Year-on-year, investment loan values rose 6.9%.

The value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings in Australia declined by 2.5% quarter-on-quarter to AUD 53.2 billion in Q1 of 2025, shifting from a downwardly revised 3.7% growth in Q4 due to falls in both first-home buyers (-3.2% vs 1.1% in Q4) and non-first-home buyers (-2.6% vs 3.1%). Annually, the value of these loans surged by 13.1%. Meanwhile, the total investment lending for homes fell by 0.3% to AUD 32.4 billion, much slower than a downwardly revised 2.5% drop in the prior period. On a yearly basis, investment lending soared 16.0%.