Confidence brings rise in Australian home loans

The number of loans granted to owner-occupiers to build or buy homes and apartments rose 2.7 per cent from October to 51,258, the highest since January, the Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. The value of lending to investors, who plan to rent or resell homes, gained 8.1 per cent.

The central bank raised interest rates in 2003 to a three-year high to cool a surge in demand for housing, which had driven up house prices and boosted household debt. The bank left rates unchanged last year amid signs the housing market slowed as property prices fell.

"We've got low unemployment and high confidence, so that may have prompted some people to jump back in the market," Justin Smirk, senior economist at Westpac, said. "We don't think this is a sign of an acceleration in lending, but some stability coming into the housing market."

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