Australian housing finance down 3.5% in January 2015

Australian housing finance approvals to owner occupiers fell 3.5% in Jan more than reversing a 2.7% rise in January.
 
That was weaker than the expected 2 decline although it should be noted that seasonal adjustment issues can amplify month to month volatility at this time of year (raw approvals drop by 15-20% in Jan). Approvals are down 0.2% on January last year.

The detail was mostly weak: owner occupier finance approvals ex refinance were down a hefty 4.4%mth; construction-related approvals down 4.8%mth. 

Investor lending was the main exception with the 0.1% dip coming after a very strong rise in Dec that was revised up from +6%mth to +6.4%mth.

Westpac notes in a report on Wednesday:

• By state, owner-occupier finance approvals fell heavily in SA and WA, with milder declines in Qld, Vic and NSW (the latter down just 0.4%mth).
  
  
• Obviously, this reading pre-dates the RBA's latest interest rate cut. Impacts from the February move are likely to show through from March-April (figures released May-June).