ANZ target 11 Brisbane and Perth postcodes in latest round of lending restrictions

Prospective buyers in a number of apartment hubs in both Brisbane and Perth may soon find it harder to get a home loan following reporting from the Australian indicating that a number of postcodes have been ‘red-flagged’ by lender ANZ.

Seven postcodes in Brisbane and four in Perth reportedly appeared on a list distributed to mortgage brokers, with the bank indicating that loan to value ratios in these areas should remain below 80% for both existing and off-the-plan apartments.   

The latest restrictions on borrowers comes little more than a month after Citi released a similar edict which ‘blacklisted’ 87 postcodes across the country including many apartment-heavy suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne.

It also follows comments from Assistant RBA Governor Luci Ellis at a talk last week who highlighted the risk of high density clustering of apartments in certain parts of Brisbane.

"It's a truism that the more supply you have, the weaker prices are going to be relative to what would have happened if supply had been lower," Dr Ellis was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Over the years, we've pointed more to Melbourne and to Brisbane as where that's more likely to cause trouble in terms of concentrated increases in supply resulting in lower prices and therefore potentially distress.”

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The seven postcodes listed in Brisbane include the inner city suburbs of Spring Hill and Fortitude Valley, as well as Dutton Park, Hawthorne, Albion and Banyo.

‘Red-flagged Brisbane postcodes’. Source: https://www.google.com.au/maps

Meanwhile, investors looking at apartments in Perth CBD, East Perth, South Perth and Belmont could face tougher lending restrictions under the ANZ changes.

The restrictions, which will allegedly come into effect on October 2nd, will target both investors and owner occupiers looking at apartments in Brisbane, while only investors will be targeted in Perth on properties below $3 million.

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