Australia: Lowest annual housing finance result since 2009 – ANZ

ANZ analysts point out that the value of Australian housing finance fell by 2.4% m/m in May, after a revised flat result in April.

Key Quotes

“Annual growth dropped to 20.9% y/y, which is the lowest in the past ten years.”

“Owner occupier finance fell by 2.7% m/m, leading to a y/y contraction of 18.0%. This is the lowest annual result for owner occupiers since 2010. However, the election in May and string of public holidays in April may have weighed on this result.”

“Given the dramatic shift in sentiment since then we would expect to see a lift in credit growth in the next few months.”

“Weakness in investor demand (-1.7% m/m, 27.8% y/y) was less gloomy, representing only a small tick down compared with April.”

“The y/y result is still up on the recent trough of -29.2% y/y seen in February.”