Record number of home loan applications and 'panic buying' puts pressure on banks 31 Jan, 2021 02:02 AM 6 minutes to read Banks have been flooded with a record number of loan applications. Photo / Getty Images Some buyers desperate to get on the property ladder are offering $20,000 to $30,000 more than the asking price and a record jump in loan applications has caused bottlenecks with the banks. Mortgage brokers say delays in getting loans processed was ''frustrating'' and the ''boom shows no sign of abating''. But many of the major banks told NZME despite the increase in applications - which in one case were up 7 per cent in the past six months compared to the same time last year - more staff had been deployed to speed up the process.