Mortgage applications plunge 15%
RESIDENTIAL mortgage applications plunged in the March quarter after the government's first home owner's grant was wound back to pre-financial crisis levels, a survey found.
Total mortgage applications fell 15 per cent in March quarter compared with the corresponding period a year earlier, the quarterly consumer credit demand index by consumer credit check company Veda Advantage showed.
The fall represented the first quarterly decline in consumer mortgage demand since the December 2008 quarter.
Total mortgage applications to March 31 dropped by eight per cent on the December 2009 quarter, Veda said in a statement on Wednesday.
The federal government boosted the first home owners grant in October 2008 from $7,000 to $21,000 for the construction of new homes, and $14,000 for existing dwellings.
The grant for the enhanced scheme was wound back to $14,000 in October last year for new homes and $10,500 for existing dwellings, and reverted back to $7,000 from January 1 this year for both categories.
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