While this policy was to be phased in over a four-year period from October 1, the bank thought the change would have an impact on serviceability for many investors, he said. “As a responsible lender, ANZ has an obligation to appropriately reflect this within our lending assessment process for new residential investment lending.” Mortgage Supply Company director David Windler said the rule change represented a 10 per cent hit to investors’ serviceability calculations. “So if a rental property generates $500 per week about $50 a week, or $2600 a year, less of that income can be used to calculate serviceability. In simple terms, investors will potentially need a bigger deposit.
Alexander said his latest survey with the Real Estate Institute provided some evidence that fear of over-paying for a house, which he called “FOOP” was becoming a concern for house buyers. It occurred when buyers became concerned about the ability of the housing market to keep rising, and worried they were buying at the peak of the market, he said. Some worried they could be stuck watching prices cool. It was not the same as people fearing negative equity, which was where a house price fell to below the size of the mortgage, and was very unlikely. Alexander said that in his survey a gross proportion of agents selected worries about prices falling as the biggest concern of buyers.