澳大利亚首次购房者贷款申请回升，投资者大幅退场

澳大利亚首次购房者正在成为推动住房市场的关键力量。数据显示，在政府5%首付贷款计划的支持下，首次购房者成为唯一申请贷款数量超过前期水平的购房群体 1。相比之下，房产投资者因负扣税改革被取消而大幅退出市场 1。

具体而言，7月首次购房贷款申请下降3%后，8月上半月已回升10%（周均基数） 1。以季节调整基准计，首次购房者贷款仅下降2.9%，而投资者贷款下跌幅度更大，达8.6% 1。自2020年启动以来，政府该项计划已帮助超过32万人成为房主 1，参与者共节省贷款保险费超过25亿澳元，人均节省额超过1.5万澳元 1。

住房部长克莱尔·奥尼尔表示："长期以来住房市场对年轻人不利，没有该计划许多人根本无法进入市场" 1。根据规定，符合担保条件的房产价格因地区而异，新南威尔士州城市地区上限为150万澳元，东南昆士兰为100万澳元，墨尔本和吉隆为95万澳元，珀斯为85万澳元，阿德莱德为90万澳元，霍巴特为70万澳元 1。

Australia's first-time home buyers are emerging as the sole purchaser category increasing their loan applications under the government-backed guarantee scheme, even as property investors withdraw from the market 1. New data shows that first-time buyer loan applications declined 3 percent in July before rebounding 10 percent in the first half of August on a week-average basis, while investor lending fell 8.6 percent during the same period 1. On a seasonally adjusted basis, first-time buyer applications dropped only 2.9 percent compared to the steeper investor retreat 1.

The government's five percent deposit loan scheme, established in 2020, has now enabled more than 320,000 people to become homeowners 1. Participants in the program have collectively saved over $2.5 billion in mortgage insurance fees as of July, with individual savers averaging more than $15,000 per household 1. Since February, the scheme has added more than 5,000 guarantees monthly, with July slightly below that threshold 1. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil stated that "for a long time the housing market has worked against young people, and without this scheme many wouldn't be able to enter the market at all" 1.

The scheme's geographic reach varies, with eligible property price caps set at $1.5 million in New South Wales cities, $1 million in Southeast Queensland, $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong, $850,000 in Perth, $900,000 in Adelaide, and $700,000 in Hobart 1. Some lenders have reported business impacts from the program's expansion; mortgage insurer Helia estimated it would lose approximately $9 million in first-time buyer business in the first half of 2026 1. ANZ Bank's program participants represent one-twentieth of its new loan applications 1.