Australia housing finance rises 1.9% in May

SYDNEY: Australian home loan commitments for May, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday, July 12.

A Reuters poll forecast the number of home loans rose 1.5%, seasonally adjusted. Estimates ranged from a fall of 4.5% to a rise of 3.4%.

The value of home loans for owner-occupied homes fell 0.3% to A$13.69 billion (RM38.32 billion) after seasonal adjustments. The value of loans for investment homes rose 2.6% to A$7.662 billion.

The number of commitments to buy new homes rose 4.7% after seasonal adjustments, while commitments to buy established homes rose 2.3%. The number of loan commitments for building homes fell 2.2%.

For details, see the ABS website. — Reuters