Monthly home loan outlays have been falling for three months straight since peaking in June, but were still at high levels in September as similar levels were last seen during the fall of 2003.

The average annual rate of interest on home loans stood at 5.08% in September, up from 4.97% in August, and from 4.68% in September 2017. The annualized rate on home loans was 4.74% in September.