Housing finance dropped for a fourth straight month in January, subdued by interest rate hikes and the withdrawal of government housing stimulus in late 2009.
The number of housing-finance approvals fell a seasonally adjusted 7.9% in January from December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Economists hadexpected a rise of 2.0%. However, the value of housing finance being directed to property investors ticked higher during the month by 0.9%.