Lending down in June quarter

Investors led a drop in lending towards the end of the financial year, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The figures show that the total number of new home loans fell 5.4 per cent to 134,225 in the June quarter 2026.

ABS head of finance statistics Dr Mish Tan observed that lending fell across all borrower types this quarter and returned to similar levels to this time last year.

“Lending conditions continued to change in the June quarter, with the Reserve Bank of Australia increasing the cash rate for the third time in 2026”, Tan said.

The number of investor loans fell 8.6 per cent (or 4,966 loans) after a 4.7 per cent fall in the March quarter, while new owner-occupier loans fell 3.3 per cent (down 2,745 loans) in the June quarter, following a 3.8 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

'Lending to owner occupiers was 1.6 per cent lower than a year ago, marking the first annual fall since September quarter 2023,' Tan said, adding that the fall in investor loans in the June quarter was the largest fall since September quarter 2022.

“Annually, growth in investor loans slowed from 19.4 per cent in the March quarter to 2.8 per cent this quarter”, she said.

New South Wales (down 15.5 per cent), Victoria (14.2 per cent) and Queensland (10.1 per cent) led the fall in investor loans. Meanwhile, rises were recorded in the Northern Territory (12.8 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (8.7 per cent) and Tasmania (5.3 percent).

First home buyer loans also fell 2.9 per cent (down 891 loans), following a 3.6 per cent fall in the March quarter. In annual terms, however, the number of new first home buyer loans was unchanged.

The value of total new home loans fell 5.2 per cent ($5.4 billion) this quarter, after a 3.4 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

“While the value of home loans increased 6.8 per cent since June quarter 2025, this was lower than the 19.1 per cent annual growth recorded in the March quarter”, Tan concluded.