Australia new mortgage lending falls in 2026 Q3

New mortgage lending in Australia came to AUD 80,764,300,000 in 2026 Q3, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The figure measures the value of new home loans committed during the quarter. It is lower than the totals recorded in each of the preceding quarters back to 2025 Q3.

The quarter brought a marked decline from the period before. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported AUD 99,028,600,000 of new mortgage lending in 2026 Q2. Housing Market Group calculates from these figures that the value of new lending fell 18.4% between 2026 Q2 and 2026 Q3.

Lending was also down on a year earlier. In 2025 Q3, new mortgage lending stood at AUD 98,669,600,000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Housing Market Group's calculation shows that the 2026 Q3 total was 18.1% lower than in that quarter. The quarterly and annual falls are of similar size.

The wider run of quarterly data shows that lending has moved in both directions over the past year. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the value of new mortgage lending rose from AUD 98,669,600,000 in 2025 Q3 to AUD 115,167,300,000 in 2025 Q4. It then dropped to AUD 92,829,900,000 in 2026 Q1 and picked up to AUD 99,028,600,000 in 2026 Q2. The latest figure for 2026 Q3 is lower than both of those 2026 quarters, so the increase seen in 2026 Q2 was not maintained in the following quarter.

Overall, the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the value of new home loans ending 2026 Q3 below the levels recorded through the earlier quarters in the series. The data cover the total value of new lending only. They do not show on their own whether the decline reflects fewer loans being written, smaller average loan sizes or a combination of the two.

The figures available for this article also do not include a breakdown by state or territory, by type of borrower or by lender. They include no comparison with mortgage lending in other countries and no Housing Market Group platform data on search demand or listings for the same period. As a result, the 2026 Q3 result can be described here only against Australia's own national totals for the preceding quarters.