The latest figures reported from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirm that the consumer confidence in the housing market continues to climb. New load commitments have risen across all buyers groups, with Queensland leading the way in most instances.
President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, Adrian Kelly, stated that the ABS figures reveal a 12.6 per cent increase in new loan commitments for owner-occupied housing in August, compared with the previous month, and a 19.3 per cent rise this year.
The rise in consumer confidence looks set to continue for some time, for Queensland at least.
Antonia Mercorella, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, said that while a pandemic did require reform of lending legislation, finding the balance was key.
“It was not that long ago that we had a Royal Commission into banking practices and there was some pretty dark and damning revelations that came out of that. “As a result, we saw the pendulum swing, perhaps too far in the other direction, where the banks became too tight with their lending practices.”
Ms Mercorella said that in a pandemic it was necessary for lending laws to be changed but it was important that that occurs within a framework that allows people to be protected and does not lead to borrowers losing their homes and livelihoods.