Housing Finance Values Reach Record Highs
It follows the eighth consecutive month of growth.
It follows the eighth consecutive month of growth.
The value of new loan commitments for housing has grown for the eighth consecutive month, reaching another record high across the country according to statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ January 2021 Lending to Households and Business figures and the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).
The report shows that new loan commitments for owner-occupier housing rose 10.5% in January and follows a 44.3% rise for the past 12 months. A rise was seen in all states and territories, with the exception of the Norther Territory.
Further, the value of new loan commitments to owner-occupiers rose 10.9% which marks the largest monthly increase since August 2020.
According to Adrian Kelly, President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia: “The number of owner-occupier first home buyer loan commitments increased by 9.6 per cent for the month and is 70.8 per cent higher than twelve months earlier. This is the highest level since May 2009, when the Commonwealth Government’s response to the GFC included the temporary increase in the first home-owner grant.”
Owner-occupier first home buyer loan commitments accounted for 36.5 per cent of all owner occupier commitments excluding refinancing.
Further, investors had also increased their activity with loans also increasing for the eighth consecutive month.
“The value of loan commitments for investor housing increasing by 9.4 per cent for the month, the largest rise since September 2016, and 22.7 per cent for the year on the back of improving rental market conditions. The largest increase in the value of new loan commitments to investors was in Victoria with an increase of 12.9 per cent in January,” added Mr Kelly.
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The latest round of policy boosts comes as stocks start the year on a soft note
China’s securities regulator is ramping up support for the country’s embattled equities markets, announcing measures to funnel capital into Chinese stocks.
The aim: to draw in more medium to long-term investment from major funds and insurers and steady the equities market.
The latest round of policy boosts comes as Chinese stocks start the year on a soft note, with investors reluctant to add exposure to the market amid lingering economic woes at home and worries about potential tariffs by U.S. President Trump. Sharply higher tariffs on Chinese exports would threaten what has been one of the sole bright spots for the economy over the past year.
Thursday’s announcement builds on a raft of support from regulators and the central bank, as officials vow to get the economy back on track and markets humming again.
State-owned insurers and mutual funds are expected to play a pivotal role in the process of stabilizing the stock market, financial regulators led by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance said at a press briefing.
Insurers will be encouraged to invest 30% of their annual premiums earning from new policies into China’s A-shares market, said Xiao Yuanqi, vice minister at the National Financial Regulatory Administration.
At least 100 billion yuan, equivalent to $13.75 billion, of insurance funds will be invested in stocks in a pilot program in the first six months of the year, the regulators said. Half of that amount is due to be approved before the Lunar New Year holiday starting next week.
China’s central bank chimed in with some support for the stock market too, saying at the press conference that it will continue to lower requirements for companies to get loans for stock buybacks. It will also increase the scale of liquidity tools to support stock buyback “at the proper time.”
That comes after People’s Bank of China in October announced a program aiming to inject around 800 billion yuan into the stock market, including a relending program for financial firms to borrow from the PBOC to acquire shares.
Thursday’s news helped buoy benchmark indexes in mainland China, with insurance stocks leading the gains. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.0% at the midday break, extending opening gains. Among insurers, Ping An Insurance advanced 3.1% and China Pacific Insurance added 3.0%.
Kai Wang, Asia equity market strategist at Morningstar, thinks the latest moves could encourage investment in some of China’s bigger listed companies.
“Funds could end up increasing positions towards less volatile, larger domestic companies. This could end up benefiting some of the large-cap names we cover such as [Kweichow] Moutai or high-dividend stocks,” Wang said.
Shares in Moutai, China’s most valuable liquor brand, were last trading flat.
The moves build on past efforts to inject more liquidity into the market and encourage investment flows.
Earlier this month, the country’s securities regulator said it will work with PBOC to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy tools and strengthen market-stabilization mechanisms. That followed a slew of other measures introduced last year, including the relaxation of investment restrictions to draw in more foreign participation in the A-share market.
So far, the measures have had some positive effects on equities, but analysts say more stimulus is needed to revive investor confidence in the economy.
Prior enthusiasm for support measures has hardly been enduring, with confidence easily shaken by weak economic data or disappointment over a lack of details on stimulus pledges. It remains to be seen how long the latest market cheer will last.
Mainland markets will be closed for the Lunar New Year holiday from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
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