Home Loans for new homes and investment housing rose in April, according to dwelling commitments figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The number of loans for the purchase of new dwellings grew by 6.3 per cent in April and by 1.3 per cent for investment housing.

On the other hand, the number of loans for construction fell by 4.8 per cent, with the result that, overall, loans for new housing dropped by 1.8 per cent to be 25 per cent lower than six months ago.

Over the 3 months to April 2010 total housing loans dropped by 20.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2009. First home buyer loans were down by 51.4 per cent, while trade-up buyer loans fell by 8.6 per cent.

In seasonally adjusted terms the total number of owner-occupier loans in April 2010 increased by 0.4 per cent in New South Wales, 3.8 per cent in South Australia, and 2.7 per cent in Tasmania.

Loans fell by 0.7 per cent in Victoria, 3.1 per cent in Queensland, 1.9 per cent in Western Australia, 0.2 per cent in the ACT, and 8.6 per cent in the Northern Territory