Australia's housing boom appears to be cooling, new home loan figures show.
Consumer caution ahead of the federal government's May budget as well as high home prices appeared to have weighed on housing market sentiment in April, economists say.
The number of home loans approved was flat in April, shy of the 0.2 per cent rise the market had expected, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.
The value of total housing finance rose 1.7 per cent in April, seasonally adjusted, to $27.89 billion, the ABS said.
The figures confirmed that the property boom seen in the second half of 2013 was slowing down, JP Morgan economist Tom Kennedy said.
"We've seen building approvals, house prices, auction clearance rates and now loan data all signalling that things are moderating a bit and suggesting that things have softened from very quick growth rates," Mr Kennedy said.
CommSec chief economist Craig James said it was encouraging that growth in the housing market had slowed.
"What we're seeing in terms of the housing market is consistent with the home price data - the higher prices are causing people to become a little more circumspect," he said.
"It does look as if we're slowing to a more sustainable pace."
While the value of investor home loans rose 2.3 per cent to a record $11 billion in April, the share of first-home buyers in the market fell to 12.3 per cent, back to the record low set in November, Mr James said.
ANZ researchers David Cannington and Paul Braddick said the housing market was being dominated by investors and upgraders/downsizers.
The sharp decline in consumer confidence since April, when the federal government began releasing details of spending cuts in its May budget, had weighed on housing market sentiment, they said.
"Consumer confidence has weakened sharply in the past month, reflecting the sensitivity of sentiment to budget measures, presenting a softer outlook for house price growth, home sales and housing finance going forward," they said.
"Nonetheless, strong population gains and pent-up home buyer demand, combined with expectations of low interest rates for an extended period of time will go some way to offsetting the negative impact of weaker market sentiment."
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