The number of home loans approved in January fell 1.5 per cent to 44,383, official figures show, a fourth consecutive monthly fall.

That compared to 45,075 approvals in December.

Economists had expected the number of housing finance commitments to fall by 3.1 per cent in January.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that total housing finance by value rose 2.4 per cent in January, seasonally adjusted, to $21.485 billion.