Invest
Regulation is ‘squeezing’ property investors out
Tightened lending requirements have pushed investors out of the property market, which has in turn triggered the price growth slowdown, according to new analysis.
Regulation is ‘squeezing’ property investors out
Tightened lending requirements have pushed investors out of the property market, which has in turn triggered the price growth slowdown, according to new analysis.
According to ANZ’s latest report, Australian Housing Update – Gliding to a soft landing, the stricter lending rules put in place by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have “driven investors out of the housing market”.
Last year, APRA called on lenders to limit interest-only loans to within 30 per cent of their loan books, building on December 2014 laws requiring lenders keep investor growth to within a 10 per cent benchmark.
While APRA has flagged that it will remove the 10 per cent benchmark “sooner rather than later”, the 30 per cent interest-only limit is unlikely to be removed as soon.
In its report, however, ANZ was firm that APRA’s changes have had the effect of “squeezing” investors from the market.
“To a large extent they are being replaced by first home buyers, who are enjoying stamp duty discounts in New South Wales and Victoria,” the report’s authors, Daniel Gradwell and Joanne Masters, said.
At the same time, they warned that the subdued investor activity has “translated into a slowdown in price growth”.
This slowdown, nonetheless, was in line with ANZ’s expectations, with the authors predicting that most of the slowdown has already occurred.
“APRA’s regulatory tightening, first on investor borrowing then on interest-only loans, was always expected to take some demand out of the market and slow price growth,” they said.
“We retain our view that prices will not materially decline. Over the near term, auction results in Sydney and Melbourne suggest that the majority of the price growth adjustment is behind us.”
However, while the economists consider the housing sector to be free of any “clear signs of stress”, they are not as sanguine as the Reserve Bank of Australia, given continued credit growth outstripping income growth.
“It’s not all plain sailing. Financial stability remains a medium term concern, although there are yet to be any notable signs of distress and the recent slowdown in house price growth is encouraging. Nonetheless, we remain cautious given that credit growth continues to outstrip income growth,” the authors said.
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
