September 09, 2009

The official seasonally adjusted figures were only slightly below economists' average expectations of a 1.5 per cent decline, and reflect a widely anticipated drop-off in the number of new home buyers as the original deadline for the First Home Owners Boost was the end of last financial year.

Even though the grant was extended in May's federal budget, loans to first time buyers as a percentage of the total loans issued fell to 25.7 per cent in July, compared with 27.1 per cent in June and 28.5 per cent in May.That may be a portent of things to come when the full grant boost expires in September, and the remaining boost ends at the end of the year.