We review the latest ABS lending flow data to March 2019.
The value of lending commitments to households fell 3.7% in seasonally adjusted terms. This follows a 2.2% rise in February 2019.
Lending to households fell across all components in seasonally adjusted terms, with the largest falls in personal finance (down 11.2%) and owner occupier dwellings (down 3.4%).
In trend terms, lending commitments for owner occupier dwellings fell 0.9% and investment dwellings fell 2.1% in March 2019.
The number of lending commitments made to owner occupier first home buyers recorded a relatively small fall (down 0.5%) compared to the fall in the number of lending commitments made to non-first home buyers (down 3.3%) in March, seasonally adjusted.
Personal finance excluding refinancing fell 11.2% in seasonally adjusted terms during March 2019 and is down 23.8% from March 2018. Lending to households for refinancing was down 0.4% in seasonally adjusted terms, following a 2.3% rise in February 2019. In trend terms, the value of lending commitments to businesses fell 2.0% in March, and is down 1.8% from March 2018.
