Leading mortgage broker Mortgage Choice says the percentage of its loan approvals for property investors has fallen to a 20-month low thanks to tighter requirements for landlords, The Australian Financial Review reports.
According to the newspaper, Mortgage Choice says 30 per cent of its loan approvals went to property investors in June, down from 34 per cent in May. This is the lowest proportion of property investor loans at the mortgage broker since late 2013.
"It's a 12 per cent reduction in investor loans in a very, very short period of time," chief executive John Flavell said, the AFR reports.
The news is one of the first signals from the property lending industry that tighter credit requirements for investors at the big banks are having an impact.
The toughening of loan-to-valuation ratios for investors and income assessments followed recommendations from the Australian Prudential Regulations Authority that banks reduce the growth in outstanding housing investor loans to 10 per cent from 10.4 per cent.