• Home buying spending intentions increased 29.6% in February, the CommBank Household Spending Intentions (HSI) Index found.
• There was an increase in spending on household services during the past month, due more people undertaking home improvements.
• CBA economists forecast that property prices will end flat in 2022 and plummet 8% in 2023.

Aussies are back on the hunt for buying a house.

The CommBank Household Spending Intentions (HSI) Index rose 1.8% to 107.3 in February, led by a post lockdown uptick in Aussies seeking to purchase homes again.

Released yesterday (8 March), the HSI Index, which is based on the largest consumer spending data set in Australia, found that home buying spending intentions increased 29.6% in February, following the usual seasonal weakness in January, when many people return from their summer holidays.

Although it’s a massive jump in home buying spending intentions, the figures are actually down 4.4% compared to February last year when home purchasing was peaking after the first COVID lockdown.

The CommBank HSI Index also reported a 4.1% pick-up in spending on household services during February, due more people undertaking home improvements and renovations.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia economists have a view that property prices will this year end flat and will plummet 8% in 2023 on the back of expected higher interest rates.

The Index combines analysis of CBA payments data, loan application information, and Google Trends publicly available search activity data.