Invest
Interest-only loan approvals plummet 55%
Tougher lending regulations are hitting investors hard, with the banking regulator finding approvals for interest-only loans took a 54.9 per cent dive in the last quarter.
Interest-only loan approvals plummet 55%
Tougher lending regulations are hitting investors hard, with the banking regulator finding approvals for interest-only loans took a 54.9 per cent dive in the last quarter.
Interest-only loans now represent 16.2 per cent, or $61.2 billion, of new home loan approvals, according to the latest data from APRA.
Investor home loan approvals also dropped by 12.4 per cent over the quarter, representing 31.1 per cent of new home loan approvals, a total of $117.5 billion.
Conversely, APRA’s statistics have shown a 4.3 per cent ($10.6 billion) year-on-year rise in owner-occupied lending, which now represents 68.9 per cent ($260.6 billion) of new home loan approvals.
Further, the figures also revealed that mortgages with a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) greater than 80 per cent and less than or equal to 90 per cent decreased, falling by 6.2 per cent ($3.4 billion) to 13.5 per cent ($51.1 billion) of all loan approvals.
A sharper decline was reported for mortgages with LVR greater than 90 per cent, with such loan approvals falling by 12.2 per cent ($3.6 billion), now representing 6.8 per cent ($25.8 billion) of all settlements.
Moreover, the data revealed that the share of new loans approved by majors banks decreased by 1.5 per cent ($5.9 billion) year-on-year, representing $378.1 billion of new loans approved.
In total, $94.6 billion in new loans were approved in the year to 30 June 2018, a 4.1 per cent decline from $98.7 billion in the previous corresponding period.
The average size of loans approved over the same period increased by 4.1 per cent from $261,000 to $272,000.
APRA also reported that asset quality improved over the same period, with the number of impaired facilities decreasing by 13.5 per cent ($1.8 billion) to $11.4 billion as at 30 June 2018.
Australia’s overall mortgage portfolio totalled $1.62 trillion as at 30 June 2018, an increase of $86.6 billion (5.6 per cent) on 30 June 2017.
RELATED ARTICLES
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
