The total value of overall home loans in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$23.44 billion.
That missed expectations for a decline of 2.8 percent following the 3.8 percent drop in November.
Loans for owner-occupied homes fell 4.2 percent to A$15.55 billion and investment lending dropped 4.4 percent to A$7.89 billion.
On a yearly basis, overall loans plunged 29.3 percent, owner-occupied home loans tumbled 29.8 percent and investment lending dropped 28.3 percent.
