Data released yesterday by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) revealed that property investor lending has cooled materially since the RBNZ implemented new loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions targeting investors, which officially came into effect on 1 October, although banks began informally applying the rules since they were first announced in mid-July.
According to the RBNZ, the value of investor mortgages taken out in March 2017 was down by 32% versus March 2016, whereas the number of mortgages was down 31%. In the hotspot of Auckland, the value of investor mortgages was also down 25% year-on-year, whereas outside of Auckland investor mortgages were down 44%.
