Invest
Investor-only loans clampdown divides opinion
Australian investors are split on recent regulatory measures set by APRA and ASIC on the housing investor segment, with a majority sceptical it will slow property investment.
Investor-only loans clampdown divides opinion
Australian investors are split on recent regulatory measures set by APRA and ASIC on the housing investor segment, with a majority sceptical it will slow property investment.
CoreLogic head of research Cameron Kusher believes there will be an impact, but he is unsure if it will continue in the long term.
“I think they will [slow investment] obviously because so many investors utilise interest-only lending,” Mr Kusher said.
“The thing I’m probably less sure of, given that last time they came in and targeted the investor segment in the housing market, it did slow down for a time but after they got well below those limits, we saw the investor segment come back into the market.”
While most people have been urging the regulatory bodies to ramp up measures to cool the property market, researcher Bill Nikolouzakis of Nyko Property believes the market will take care of itself over time.
“If price continues to move forward, investors will find it harder to purchase in those marketplaces and will take longer for them to purchase again and that will slow the market down,” Mr Nikolouzakis says.
“What we’re finding now is with prices where they are at, especially in Sydney, it is becoming harder and harder for investors to buy in those areas, the yields are lower, making cash flow harder, and with lending conditions being tougher, we’re certainly seeing a slowdown in those environments.”
Likewise, Mr Kusher believes there is no need to panic at this stage.
“You can always argue that they could move quicker and do more, but I think they are taking a ‘softly softly’ approach,” he said.
“I also think we’re not privy to the conversations going on behind closed doors with the banks, so there’s probably a lot more going on than any of us actually realise.”
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