Home loan volumes have significantly increased over the past year, especially among investors.

Investors committed to $10.67 billion of mortgages in May, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That was 29.5% higher than the year before.

At the same time, owner-occupier borrowing activity rose 12.2%, to $18.13 billion.

Investors were responsible for 37.1% of the home loans that were issued in May. Despite the surge, that's only slightly higher than the long-term average (in records dating back to 2002) of 35.9%.

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By way of comparison, investors' share of home loan activity bottomed out at 22.4% in 2021 and peaked at 45.9% in 2015, while owner-occupiers’ share reached a low of 54.1% in 2015 and a high of 77.6% in 2021.

If you’re thinking about applying for a home loan, here are three important tips to make yourself more creditworthy in the eyes of lenders:

• Reduce your spending, to free up money to pay off a loan
• Pay all your bills on time, to maintain a good credit score
• Contact a broker, who will compare the market for you

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