Data released 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 2016, although banks began informally applying the rules since they were first announced in mid-July 2016.
According to the RBNZ, the value of investor mortgages taken out in May 2017 was down by 40% versus May 2016, whereas the number of mortgages was down 38%. In the hotspot of Auckland, the value of investor mortgages was also down 34% year-on-year, whereas outside of Auckland investor mortgages were down 58%.
