Real Estate Review

INVESTORS are the only source of growth in the housing market, and rising stocks of unsold houses suggest the outlook for house prices is souring.

The level of demand for housing by owner-occupiers remains weak, with the number of new mortgages taken out in May dropping by 0.7 per cent and now 26.9 per cent below the peak reached last September. The end of the stimulus boost to the first-home buyers grant accounted for much of this fall. With fewer first-home buyers in the market, fewer people were able to upgrade their homes.

Investors are filling some of the gap, lifting their borrowing by 2.6 per cent in May and by 11.7 per cent since last September, but they are a relatively small section of the market. Mortgages for people buying new houses fell by 0.2 per cent in the month and are now down by 20 per cent over the past six months.Mortgages for people buying new houses fell by 0.2 per cent in the month and are now down by 20 per cent over the past six months.