First home buyers keeping away from property market

Demand for home loans is starting to slow down as first home buyers increasingly vacate the property market. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the number of home loans taken out by owner occupiers dropped 1.8% - down more than 22% on the June 2009 peak.

First home buyers accounted for the majority of the slide, with home loans to aspiring house owners down 43% from a year earlier.

According to the ABS, housing finance commitments dropped 2.1% in February 2010, while owner occupied housing commitments fell 3.1% and investment housing commitments dropped 0.4%.