SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE SHADOW TREASURER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE COST OF LIVING
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
18 February 2026
ALBANESE GOVERNMENT’S HOUSING FAILURE DRIVES RECORD WA LOAN SIZES AND DEEPER DEBT
New ABS Lending Indicators data for the December quarter 2025 has exposed the growing cost of Labor’s housing failure, with average home loan sizes recording their largest increase in more than a decade.
Instead of delivering affordable homes, the Albanese Government has delivered record debt.
The ABS figures show that while the number of first home buyer loans increased across most jurisdictions — led by New South Wales (+10.9 percent) and Western Australia (+9.8 percent) — the value of those loans is rising far faster, with the average loan in WA increasing by $55,000 in the December quarter to $688,000, reflecting the relentless surge in house prices.
In Western Australia alone, the value of finance for new home buyers jumped from $1.86 billion to $2.21 billion in the December quarter — a staggering increase in just three months.
WA also recorded the largest annual increase in average loan size for owner-occupiers, up 16 per cent in the year to June 2025.
This is the highest in the nation.
Mean dwelling prices in WA climbed 4.5 percent ($40,800) in the September quarter, among the strongest increases in the country.
These figures confirm a simple truth: under Labor, Australians are not buying more affordable homes — they are taking on bigger mortgages to chase fewer properties.
While first home buyers may be entering the market in slightly higher numbers, they are doing so with unprecedented levels of debt.
This is the direct consequence of the Albanese Government’s failure to match population growth with housing supply, failure to meet its National Housing Accord targets, and failure to control the inflationary pressures that are driving up construction and land costs.
Labor will point to rising loan approvals as a sign of confidence.
In reality, it is a sign of desperation — Western Australians stretching further than ever before just to secure a foothold in an overheated market.
When average loan sizes rise at the fastest pace in more than a decade, it does not signal affordability, it signals a housing system under strain.
COMMENTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO SENATOR DEAN SMITH:
“The value of new home buyer lending in WA has jumped by more than $346 million in a single quarter – Labor’s housing failures are forcing Western Australians to take on record debt just to buy a home.”
“The largest increase in average loan sizes in more than a decade is not a success story, it is proof housing affordability is going backwards.”
“Unless Labor fixes supply, reins in inflation and restores confidence in the construction sector, young Australians will keep paying more and borrowing more for less.”
