ABS data for December released Friday revealed refinancing was down 1.5% to $19.1 billion but still remains elevated.
The value of new home loan commitments also declined 4.3% to $23.4 billion.
Owner occupiers made up $15.6 billion while investors made up $7.9 billion - falls of 4.2% and 4.4% respectively.
New first home buyer loans continued to come off the boil, down to $3.66 billion in December, down 35.9% in a year and well below the pre-pandemic peak.
Those who continued to borrow borrowed at slightly larger amounts, with the average loan size for owner occupiers up to $604,000 from $602,000 the month prior.
For investors this figure was also $604,000.
ABS head of finance and wealth Sean Crick said borrowers switching lenders is at historical highs because their low pandemic-era fixed interest rates are expiring, but new loans have pulled back.
"In December 2022, the value of total new housing loan commitments was 23% higher than the level seen in February 2020, prior to the COVID 19 pandemic," Mr Crick said.
"In December 2021, the value of these commitments was 74% higher than the pre-pandemic level."
Analysis of the major banks' - CBA, WBC, NAB and ANZ - financial reports reveals $268 billion worth of fixed-rate home loans are set to expire in 2023.
The four majors, as per the latest data, account for 75.2% of the value of home lending by banks in Australia.
The total value of new fixed-rate home loans written in December, including refinancing, amounted to $2.438 billion, or approximately 4.9% of the loan pool.
More to come...
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