Investor Lending Slows in February Before the APRA Crackdown Was Announced

It seems that lenders were already scaling back their appetite for investment lending as early as January this year, with the value of housing finance commitments for investment purposes falling by almost 6% in February; the largest fall in lending for investment purposes since September 2015.  While this is only one month of data, it is likely that investment lending has moved, or is moving through the peak of the cycle.

The February 2017 housing finance data which was released today by…