Lenders Entice Owner-Occupiers as Investors Fall Off

Commercial loans including mortgages to investors fell 7.8 per cent in September and home loans to owner-occupiers fell 2.1 per cent to $20.7 billion as Australia's property market slows.

Personal loans rose 0.8 per cent to $6.24 billion in September, while lease finance fell 1.3 per cent to $565 million.
The APRA-instigated crackdown on

investment lending to curb investor activity has improved housing affordability for owner-occupiers, prompting 30 lenders to cut their home loan rate for owner-occupiers.

70 lenders now have interest rates under 4 per cent for owner-occupiers with a principal and interest loan, according to figures from financial comparison site Mozo.

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Investor Lending Falls to Lowest Level in 2 Years]

The financial comparison site found 30 providers have now made at least one variable rate cut since the start of October. The average variable rate cut for an owner-occupier paying principal and interest is 15 basis points, while one lender has cut by more than five times that.

“This sudden surge of rate competition at the tail end of the spring property season has coincided with improved conditions for first homebuyers including cooling capital city housing prices, less competition from investors and stamp duty exemptions and discounts in New South Wales and Victoria,” Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said.