The number of loan commitments for dwellings in Australia rose 5.1% to 149,434 between the December 2025 and September 2025 quarters, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

New home loans climbed 4.8% to 88,990, with their total value rising about 11% to AU$65.32 billion, while first home buyer loans increased 6.8% to 31,783, and surged nearly 16% in value to AU$19.31 billion.

"This was the largest rise in the number of first home buyer loans since the December quarter 2023," said Mish Tan, the bureau's head of finance statistics.

Meanwhile, lending to investors rose 5.5% to 60,445. The total value of investment loans approved increased 7.9% to AU$42.99 billion.

Compared with the year-earlier period, the number of total loans approved rose past 13% in the December 2025 quarter. New home loans increased 7.4%, and investor loans jumped nearly 24%.