New home loans fall below $1 billion

New home loans dipped under $1 billion a month in August and September in another sign of a slowing housing market.

Latest Reserve Bank figures show the total borrowed grew about $900 million in September to $97 billion.

The monthly increases in the previous 10 months were all more than $1 billion, with peak increases of $1.3 billion in both March and April. In 2000, before the housing boom began, monthly lending ranged from $300 million to $500 million a month.