Lending on new mortgages plummets

New lending to investors dropped by a whopping 41.4% annually to sit at a 17.1% market share of all mortgages.

The share of new mortgage commitments to investors with high LVR (60%) dropped from 32.1% to 30.1%, indicating they are still sitting on the fence and not buying while the effect of higher interest rates kick in and the removal of mortgage interest against expenses is worked through tax returns being prepared now. 

Total mortgage lending for April fell $1.6 billion, or 22.1%, to $5.7 billion. Just $1 billion went to investors.

While the total value of mortgage lending plummeted during the month, the average size of each mortgage increased to a record high of $406,000, the first time it has broken the $400,000 mark.