Australia Investor Home Loans Plunge 30.6% in September Quarter as Total Housing Lending Falls 15%
CANBERRA — The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its lending indicators for the September quarter 2026 on November 11, showing that the number of new investor loan commitments for dwellings fell 30.6% in the quarter to 35,301, while the value fell 32.3% to A$24.7 billion, in seasonally adjusted terms. Compared with a year earlier, investor loan numbers were down 38.5%.
Housing lending fell sharply overall: total new loan commitments for dwellings dropped 15.0% to 111,878, and their total value fell 15.5% to A$81.2 billion. Owner-occupier commitments fell a much shallower 5.3% to 76,578, while first home buyer commitments fell 8.6% to 26,415, with their value down 8.0% to A$16.2 billion.
According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), ABS head of finance statistics Mish Tan said the data suggested investor activity was being influenced by factors beyond increasing borrowing costs, including the potential impacts of tax changes and expectations of lower house prices. The September quarter was the first full quarter since the federal government's May budget curbed negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions for investors.
AAP also reported Housing Minister Clare O'Neil saying the figures showed the balance shifting back toward owner-occupiers and first home buyers, with owner-occupiers' share of total home loans climbing to 68% from 59% before the May budget. The construction industry took a different view: Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn said cutting investor tax incentives alongside rising interest rates and construction costs was hurting building activity, while opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg called the fall in overall lending a disaster.
The ABS lending indicators count new borrower-accepted loan commitments and exclude refinancing. The bureau reported 63,475 external refinancing commitments by owner-occupiers in the quarter, down 3.8%.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：澳大利亚 Sydney 海港夜景。J woodward 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Sydney Harbour at night, Australia. Photo by J woodward, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
