According to recently released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the total number of owner-occupied housing commitments rose by 0.1 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in October, following an upwardly revised 1.1 per cent increase in September.
Commenting on the figures, Housing Industry Association (HIA) Chief Economist, Harley Dale, said "there has been some modest improvement in total housing finance since mid 2012 and at face value that is an encouraging development."
The October data showed that the number of owner-occupiers looking to upgrade their existing property increased, as owner-occupied housing commitments (excluding refinancing) rose by 1.0 per cent.
Finance for investors also rose over the month, with investment housing commitments increasing by 5.5 per cent to be up 21 per cent in the year to October 2012.
These positive results were, however, counterbalanced by a 0.3 per cent decline in the number of loans for construction and a 0.1 per cent drop in financing for the purchase of established dwellings.
The HIA noted that the total number of seasonally adjusted loans for the construction and purchase of new homes rose in three states over October, increasing by 6.7 per cent in New South Wales, 1.8 per cent in South Australia, and 2.9 per cent in Western Australia.
The number of loans fell by 0.2 per cent in Victoria, 3.0 per cent in Queensland, 12.5 per cent in Tasmania, 7.7 per cent in the Northern Territory, and 4.8 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory.
"Some signs of recovery are better than none and that is what the housing finance figures are showing. A pull-back in loans for construction over the October 'quarter' is clearly an area for concern, however, as is the decline in new home lending in a majority of state and territories," continued Mr Dale.
"We also need to take note that a methodological issue with the measurement of housing finance may be exaggerating signs of recovery in 2012."
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