Tasmanian home lending was on a down trend even before the Reserve Bank hiked interest rates in May.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The state averaged 716 new home loans for owner occupation per month in the six months to April, after averaging 791 per month in the previous six months, according to original terms Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
There might be further falls to come, with the Reserve Bank widely expected to hike the cash rate again on Tuesday.
There is more at play than the May rate hike, real estate agent Deanne Lamprey believes.
"I think the cost of living is concerning people and there's been a lot of chatter for a while that interest rates are going to trend upwards," the First National Real Estate Burnie managing director said.
"In the Burnie area over the Christmas-January-February period, there wasn't a lot of property on the market; a lot of them were higher priced property.
"If the stock levels aren't there, people can't purchase anything."
Ms Lamprey said more stock was starting to come onto the market.
"I think a lot of people are just a bit concerned with the cost of living and interest rate rises, which are also, I suppose, going to have an impact on lending," she said.
She expected the banks would tighten up on lending, while building companies running into strife - particularly on the mainland - were also worrying people.
"Elections too," she said.
"Normally a lot of people put everything on hold.
"They want to see who gets in and what's going to happen.
"It's the fear of the unknown."
The ABS found average new home loan sizes for owner occupiers fell in Tasmania in April to $447,778, while rising in the other states.
The national average was $611,154.
Of the other states and territories, only the Northern Territory had a lower average than Tasmania.
First home buyers accounted for 25.2 per cent of Tasmanian new home loans for owner occupation in April, compared with a national figure of 31.5 per cent.