Home lending fell sharply in April as a hike in interest rates and two sets of public holidays deterred borrowers.
Borrowing for housing fell 6.4 per cent to $30.99 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Economists had been expecting just a 0.3 per cent dip following a 1.6 per cent rise in March.
Borrowing for owner-occupiers was down 7.3 per cent to $19.91 billion, the largest fall since May 2020.
Borrowing for investors fell 4.8 per cent, snapping nine months of consecutive growth since June 2021.
"Lenders attributed the falls to a softening housing market, as well as the close proximity of Easter and Anzac Day public holidays, which softened borrower demand and limited loan processing more than would usually occur in the month of April," said Katherine Keenan, ABS head of finance and wealth.
Despite the decrease, the value of lending in April was still higher than pre-pandemic levels, the ABS said.
The value of new owner-occupier loans was 44 per cent higher than February 2020, while the value of investor commitments was 113 per cent higher.
Seasonally adjusted borrowing for first-time home buyers fell 4.4 per cent nationally and was 34.3 per cent compared to a year ago.
Growth in house prices has been slowing since mid-2021 as properties became unaffordable, consumer confidence soured amid cost of living pressures, and fixed-rate mortgages began to trend higher.
The cost of variable-rate mortgages is now also on the rise after the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked the cash rate from a record low in May.
Commonwealth Bank and ANZ on Friday both raised fixed home loan rates for owner-occupiers and investors, following the lead of NAB and Westpac.
"As a result, none of the big four banks now offer a fixed rate under three per cent, with the vast majority of owner-occupier rates starting with a '4' or '5'," said RateCity.com.au research director Sally Tindall.
"We expect 1- and 2-year fixed rates will keep on rising as the cash rate hikes unfold."
Economists expect the RBA board will endorse a further increase of at least 25 basis points when it meets next Tuesday.
