Home loan approvals continue to rise

Securing finance to buy your dream property is the first step to achieving your dreams and it seems many people across the country have been doing just that.

April data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals the number of owner occupied home loans increased 0.1 per cent in trend terms during April, compared with the previous month.

There was also a 1.1 per cent rise in approvals for construction loans, which will no doubt be good news for home builders up and down the country.

"Over the three months to April 2014 the number of construction loans increased by 5.4 per cent to reach the highest quarterly level since early 2010," revealed Harley Dale, chief economist at the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in a June 10 statement.

"Today's update is consistent with further growth in detached and low density dwelling construction into the new fiscal year."

The HIA also provided its own data for the three months to April. Its seasonally adjusted estimate also pointed to a rise in home lending in many parts of the country.

Strongest results were seen in Tasmania where home loans increased 10.7 per cent, while lending was also up 7.5 per cent in South Australia, 6.9 per cent in Western Australia 5.5 per cent in Queensland.

Victoria and New South Wales posted rises of 5 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

The ABS figures show there has been a slight fall in the number of people being accepted for their first home loan over recent weeks.

As a percentage of total owner occupier housing finance commitments, first home buyers represented 12.6 per cent of the market in March, declining marginally to 12.3 per cent in April.

This makes it more important than ever to give yourself the best possible chance of getting the best rate for your home loan, which is where a mortgage broker can really add value.