May 19th, 2010 
Travis Brown According to new data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, higher interest rates have made a negative impact on the appetite of Australians seeking home loans.
The figures published on Monday, suggest that there has been a seasonally adjusted decline of 3.4 per cent in the value of owner occupied homes.
According to the data, loan commitments for owner occupied housing declined to $13.5 billion in March, from $14 billion in February.
Higher interest rates also impacted personal finance, which also fell by 1.3 per cent in March compared with February.
The picture emerging for business lending continues to brighten, with business lending increasing marginally by 1.1 per cent in March to $28.3 billion.
Leasing finance was the star performer, and leapt 5.8 per cent to $388 million in March.
At the start of May, the central bank once again lifted official interest rates by 25 basis points, and left them standing at 4.5 per cent, the third consecutive monthly increase and the sixth hike since October.
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