Mortgage applications on the rise

29/07/2010

Mortgage applications rose 2.3 per cent in the June quarter, but credit card applications dropped nine per cent, credit agency Veda Advantage said.

Veda's latest quarterly consumer credit demand index tracked credit inquiries over the June 2010 quarter. It showed mortgage applications firmed 2.3 per cent compared to the March quarter. But mortgage applications fell 20.3 per cent compared with the June 2009 quarter, as the first home owner grants were wound back, Veda said in a statement.

Veda spokesman Chris Gration said the credit quality of mortgage applicants who applied when the Government offered the first home owner's grant had improved marginally. "So there's no sign in Australia of that (US) sub-prime bubble happening,'' he said.

Applications for credit cards have been falling steadily for two years, and dropped another nine per cent in the June quarter, compared to the March quarter, Veda added. There was also a 4.8 per cent decline in personal loan applications over the same period.

Veda measures the adverse rate of credit, that is the rate of applications with defaults or bankruptcies."During the last couple of years, the adverse rates fell,'' Mr Gration said.

"Credit quality got better and it's just started to flatten out. Over the last two years households have adjusted to the tougher economic conditions by being more cautious and people with poor credit quality have stayed out of the market.''

Source: News.com.au