Lending rates for people building new houses were up across Australia in December 2019 according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics with Tasmania the only state to record a decrease.

Housing Industry Alliance chief economist Tim Reardon said the decrease was just Tasmania moving back towards a sustainable equilibrium.

"What we've seen over the last couple of years is a really strong level of building activity in Tasmania, which has been out of cycle with the rest of Australia," he said.

He said we can expect to see building activity slow in the back half of this year.

"In terms of our leading indicators you should expect to see building approval figures slow for Tasmania but all indications are that the Tasmanian economy remains robust."

The figures also showed an increase in the value of new loan commitments.

Real Estate Institute of Australia President Adrian Kelly said the figures showed increased consumer confidence towards the end of 2019.

"The finance commitments for December reflect a continuing interest and boost in confidence in all buyer segments of the real estate market at the close of 2019," he said.

He said he expected the January figures to be positive as well due to the implementation of the First Home Loan Deposit scheme.