First home buyer mortgages up in July
Despite a cooling property market in most sectors, there is a glimpse of a recovery in the first home buyer sector, the latest data has revealed.
According to mortgage aggregator Australian Financial Group's (AFG) Mortgage Index, released yesterday, first home mortgages as a portion of all mortgages written by the group's mortgage brokers increased from 9.5 per cent in June to 11.1 per cent in July.
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The volume of first home buyer mortgages also increased from $192 million to $204 million.
Meanwhile, overall mortgage volumes have been in an almost steady decline since March this year, with the number of new mortgages falling 15.1 per cent in July.
AFG general manager of sales and operations, Mark Hewitt, said six interest rate rises and an environment of economic uncertainty slowed down the market significantly during the first half of the year.
“In July we saw additional seasonal factors come into play – the election was called, school holidays during the first two weeks and a wet, cold winter in eastern states.
“That said, we did see a pickup in activity towards the end of the month, and we expect stronger figures as we move into spring,” he said.