March not the usual bumper month
March is normally a bumper month for lending, but that hasn't been the case this year with a slowing housing market.
Tuesday, May 6th 2008, 7:31AM
In March mortgage lending growth was $1,132 million compared to $1,235 million in the previous month.
ASB says these figures are unusual as "March is usually the bumper month of the year."
"However, the housing turnover figures were also very low for the month. Either the housing market weakened substantially in March relative to the pace of slowdown seen in recent months or the early Easter had some effect on drawdowns.
If it is the case that Easter is at least part of the cause then April housing and mortgage figures should hold up better than is usually the case.
However, other lending sectors do not appear to have been affected. Business lending growth remained stable and agricultural lending growth has jumped.
ASB also notes that lending by the non-bank financial institution sector (in which finance companies are included) is weakening.
"In the business space annual NBFI lending growth is down to 3.4%, and the outstanding sum of lending is 3.5% down from the peak in November. Normally between November and March lending should have risen – or remained steady at worst.
"The outstanding sum of NBFI lending to households has been static for a number of months, which is again not the norm."
While the economy is slowing, the overall lending picture remains very solid, ASB says. "The trends outside the household sector remain upbeat."
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