The ABS Housing Finance data revealed some good news for some of the cyclicals, including those in the construction and building materials sectors, with the...

The ABS Housing Finance data revealed some good news for some of the cyclicals, including those in the construction and building materials sectors, with the dwelling construction boom continuing to firm and gradually looking more likely push right through until 2017. To some extent the market has been pricing in such an outcome with regards to individual stocks, but lending for construction has continued to forge higher ensuring that the pipeline remains strong. At the state level, the clear winner for owner-occupier lending was Queensland, which has seen the value of homebuyer lending surge 29 percent higher since the 2011 nadir in sentiment. This seems likely to push dwelling prices higher, particularly in Brisbane. But it was investor lending which once again stole the headlines, with investor loans breaking the highest share of lending ever seen in Australia. New home sales pushed out to new heights for the cycle, while at last there were some signs of life in the major renovations sector (driven overwhelmingly by the Sydney market), signalling some overdue better news for stores after a lean run. (VIEW LINK)