• Home loans for owner-occupiers up

• Driven by first homeowners grant

• NSW leading in housing turnaround

As reported in the Daily Telegraph on January 15: " NSW is boosting hopes the economy is "moving into recovery", after home-lending figures released yesterday showed the state leading the country in a housing turnaround.

Economists said the figures highlighted the Sydney housing market had "bottomed out", allowing more people - including first-home buyers - to join the market.

The outlook was also "looking better" for the flat job market.

The number of home loans approved for owner-occupied housing in NSW rose 5.7 per cent in November, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' seasonally adjusted figures. That compared with the national average of 1.3 per cent.

Tasmania recorded a 6.5 per cent jump but NSW had a higher number of approvals, driven by first-home buyers following the Government's doubling of the homeowners grant. ....

 Residex's chief executive officer and housing analyst John Edwards said the latest housing figures signalled "signs of recovery".

"The more houses you have, the greater demand for whitegoods, which is reflected in retail sales and jobs," Mr Edwards said.

New houses purchased by first-home buyers jumped by almost 10 per cent and the proportion of first-home buyers in the market rose to 23.6 per cent in November, from 19.5 per cent in October, according to the figures.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia senior economist Michael Workman said rate cuts and the increase to the first home owner's scheme were "undoubtedly" restoring confidence.

Richard and Vanessa Searle's three-bedroom Jannali cottage was advertised for the first time last Saturday but already been inspected by 10 prospective buyers.

"The first homebuyer's market is certainly buoyant and that's kind of where our house sits - we've just outgrown it," Mr Searle said."

On the downside, the stock of unsold houses in some areas remains high, especially  Southeasteast Queensland, where there were more unsold houses on the market than in Sydney, despite the population being 40 per cent smaller, according to the head of property research for investment company Advisers Edge, Louis Christopher .

In other news, it was reported in the same article in the Daily Telegraph that the Housing Industry Association was seeking further incentives for investment property owners, such as doubling the tax  depreciation allowances and incentives for investment in raising energy efficiency of dwellings.