16 Jul Mortgage , loans and the first home buyer
Loans door shutting on first-home buyers
16/07/2013
Source : Fairfax NZ : stuff.co.nz and shared by Auckland lawyers and conveyancing staff at Quay Law.
One in every two to three first-home buyers could be shut out of the housing market as the Reserve Bank forges ahead with controversial restrictions on home loans.
Banking sources say the central bank will announce new rules within the week that will rein in riskier mortgage lending to 12 per cent of new loans.
The changes will dramatically reduce the amount of high loan-to-value (LVR) loans that the banks are writing, making it much harder to get a mortgage with a deposit of less than 20 per cent.
In theory, the new regime could strip close to $2 billion out of the loan market in a year, equal to more than 4000 homes at average prices.
Prime Minister John Key’s attempt to pressure the Reserve Bank to “carve out” an exemption for first-home buyers appears to have failed.
The sources said tensions between the parties had run high as governor Graeme Wheeler refused to water down the policy tool.
“My understanding is that all the efforts of Government to slow them down on the decision have not been successful,” they said.
Labour’s housing spokesman Phil Twyford said Key’s “crocodile tears” were not good enough. “The very people that they claimed to be wanting to protect are the victims of this policy.”
Mr Twyford said prices were spiralling out of the reach of first-home buyers.
Lending limits would prevent poorer families becoming homeowners.
“It advantages property investors and locks out first-home buyers,” he said.
Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope said the rules would have “perverse consequences” and lock buyers out of the market.
About 70 per cent of first-home buyers got their foot in the door with a deposit of less than 20 per cent, he said.
The Reserve Bank, which is committed to financial stability, is worried that as much as 30 per cent of the banks’ new mortgage lending is high risk.
That is much higher than the historical average of roughly 20 per cent, and could leave home-owners in serious trouble if house prices fall suddenly.
Limits on LVRs were announced in the Budget as part of a commitment to housing affordability.
However, the policy may have backfired.
The new rules will leave the Government scrambling to find other ways to avoid a further squeeze on first-home buyers.
Those are expected to include boosting supply, through fast-tracked “greenfields” new developments, and allowing higher thresholds for access to Welcome Home Loans.
Ministers are also considering allowing those in KiwiSaver to withdraw more of their savings to use as a deposit.
