Prices are up but the number of home buyers dropped in every state in May according to the ABS

THE number of loans to home buyers dropped in every state during May. Which state suffered the most?

HOME buyers took a breather in May as the number of home loans dropped in every state with the Northern Territory experiencing the biggest slide.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal the number of owner occupiers taking out loans in the Northern Territory dropped by 8.8 per cent, although that represented only a drop of 32 loans during the month.

Prices continued to rise in New South Wales and Victoria and particularly in the capital cities during the period, but the number of borrowers was on the way down.

Both markets had almost 1000 fewer owner occupies taking out mortgages during the month.

Victoria loans were down by 6.4 per cent and New South Wales was down by 5.9 per cent.

Borrowers in South Australia dropped by 7 per cent, Western Australia by 5.2 per cent, Tasmania 5.1 per cent and the ACT by 4.2 per cent.

Queensland experienced a 3.2 per cent drop in loans to people wanting to buy their own home.

Owner occupier loans were down nationally by 5.3 per cent, loans to investors also dropped by 3.2 per cent.

The number of buyers may have dropped during the month but the amount they borrowed continued to increase, perhaps reflecting the significant growth some capital cities have experienced in house prices since the start of the year.

The average mortgage was now $357,500 which was 10.1 per cent higher than the same time last year.