Australian home-loan approvals fell in November by the most in 18 months as central bank Governor Glenn Stevens led the world in raising borrowing costs.

The number of loans granted to build or buy houses and apartments for owner-occupiers slumped 5.6% to 59,516 from October, when they fell a revised 1.9%, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The median estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 0.5% drop.

bloomberg.com