Australia January Housing Loans Down Sharply

(RTTNews) - The number of loans for housing in Australia fell sharply in January.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday that the number of finance commitments for owner occupied housing declined a seasonally adjusted 7.9 percent compared to December.

A seasonally adjusted total of 51,056 such commitments was issued in January.

In terms of value, total dwelling commitments declined 3.3 percent in January vs. December in seasonally adjusted terms.

The value of commitments for owner occupied housing was down 5.0 percent on month.

The value of investment housing loans increased 0.9 percent compared to December.