GRA Blogs

Articles by Kris Pedersen

Kris Pedersen

Don't expect banks to loosen lending anytime soon

2489

As investors become increasingly aware of how much the lending landscape has changed from that of a few years ago, a question I am receiving a lot is, “When will we see the banks relax mortgage lending criteria again?”

Whilst we saw the slight relaxing of LVR restrictions at the start of the year, over roughly the same period we have also seen:
Debt servicing restrictions continuing to tighten with an emphasis on lenders assessing all of clients’ mortgages on high interest rates (7-8%). This means that lending guidelines are quite distorted when compared with the actual performance of a property portfolio.
Interest-only loans getting harder to access and frequently banks are refusing to roll over for new periods when an existing period comes up for expiry. Many investors will not have felt the impact of this yet. However, when combined with the general increased costs of being a landlord, we expect to see more investors coming under cashflow strain over the next few years.
The Royal Commission in Australia looking into misconduct in the financial services sector – in particular, poor lending practices and the lack of emphasis banks placed on customers’ expenses when assessing loan applications. There was a flow-on effect of this in New Zealand.

Regarding the last point, my team and I personally experienced severe tightening with one of the major banks recently, as loan assessors reported back to us that they are getting told to look much more closely at applications in general.

On the flipside, this is creating opportunities in the burgeoning non-bank market, with many of the lenders we deal with stating large increases in mortgages being written. While in most cases these lenders are charging a premium on what you’d pay if you could have accessed the finance through a mainstream lender, the fact that often these lenders seem to operate with a higher degree of common sense, innovation and lack of fishhooks, shows that this segment will only continue to grow in market share. There is still more funding required for reasonably priced longer-term requirements in this space but there are signs that this is starting to come. Several operators have introduced prime versions of products in recent months with rates significantly beneath those of their traditional offerings.

The one area where relaxing may apply shortly is the increasing talk that we will see a further pulling back of the LVR restrictions late this month when the Reserve Bank does its next Financial Stability Report. ANZ, BNZ and Kiwibank economists have all stated that they expect this to eventuate with a likely increase in the investment space back to 70%. The positive is that even if it doesn’t eventuate then, we are very likely to see it announced in May next year at the following review.

Unfortunately don’t expect to see other relaxing in Bank Land any time shortly.



Kris Pedersen
signed
Kris Pedersen
Kris Pedersen Mortgages
© Gilligan Rowe & Associates LP

Did you like this article? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive tips, updates and useful information to help you protect your assets and grow your net worth. We're expert accountants providing expert advice to clients in NZ and around the world.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide only a summary of the issues associated with the topics covered. It does not purport to be comprehensive nor to provide specific advice. No person should act in reliance on any statement contained within this article without first obtaining specific professional advice. If you require any further information or advice on any matter covered within this article, please contact the author.
Comments

Add a Comment

Log in or sign up to post a comment

Testimonials

Always available to give great advice and helped us out in a difficult situation.

- Karen, November 2023

Would you like to receive . .

. . tips, updates and useful information to help
protect your assets and grow your net worth?

Property 101by

Investing in residential property?

Put this at the top of your reading list.



If you're investing in residential property, seeking to maximise your ability to succeed and minimise risk, then this is a 'must read'.

Matthew Gilligan provides a fresh look at residential property investment from an experienced investor’s viewpoint. Written in easy to understand language and including many case studies, Matthew explains the ins and outs of successful property investment.

  • How to find the right property
  • How to negotiate successfully
  • Renovation do's & don'ts
  •  Property management 
  • Case studies and examples
  • and much, much more...
TOP