Australia home loan growth slows as investor lending falls

Australian home loans grew at a slower rate than expected in December as lending to investors fell for the first time since August.

Home loans grew 0.4 per cent month-on-month in December, lower than a revised 1.3 per cent uptick in November (previously a 0.9 per cent rise) and coming in below a median estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg of 1 per cent growth.

Lending to property investors fell 1 per cent in December, against revised 5 per cent growth in November (previously 4.9 per cent) in the first contraction since August.