Posted by 
Australians took out $5.4 billion in loans to buy their first home last month despite persistently high interest rates.
Lending to first-home buyers and all other property investors increased by 30.7 per cent in the past year, with 50,188 buyers in the market in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
At least $29.35 billion worth of loans were taken out in April alone, a 4.8 per cent increase from March.
READ MORE: Australia's leading causes of death revealed
The size of home loans also rose, with investors taking out 5.6 per cent more than in the previous month, 36.1 per cent higher than a year ago.
The value of first-home buyer loans rose 3.4 per cent in April, about 18.6 per cent higher than last year.
The rises in the number and value of loans over the last year came even though interest rates are higher than what they were 12 months ago.
The cash rate was at 3.6 per cent in April 2023, three-quarters of a per cent lower than the current level of 4.35 per cent.
Canstar finance expert Steve Mickebecker said data was a sign of the market's resilience in the face of relentless interest rate increases.
READ MORE: Greens leader Adam Bandt threatens to sue Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus
"The recovery of home prices has bolstered lending," he said.
"But even excluding the impact of higher prices, the market is showing its strength, with the number of new loans in April up 11,775 or 31 per cent from a year earlier, shrugging off the impact of a further 0.75 per cent cash rate increase in the same period."
Mickebecker said the market "has found a floor" after the initial cash rate hike shock led to a 25 per cent drop in lending last April.
"Increased interest rates have put a whole group of borrowers under extreme pressure, especially those who borrowed in the couple of years preceding cash rate increases, and that pain continues," he said.
"But new borrowers are putting it behind them."
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, celebrity and sport via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
