Westpac offers larger loans
Westpac is gearing up to capture new business by increasing its maximum loan to valuation ratio (LVR).
Yesterday, the major announced it would up the maximum amount it lends to new home loan customers from 90 per cent to 95 per cent LVR.
In a company statement, the lender said the maximum LVR for existing customers would remain unchanged at 95 per cent.
Similarly, the maximum LVR for low doc customers will also remain unchanged at 80 per cent.
The major’s announcement comes just one day after The Commonwealth Bank said it would increase its maximum LVR lending to 95 per cent for all new customers and follows a growing trend towards higher LVR lending.
But while competition between the majors is heating up, RFI director Alan Shields told Smart Property Investment that there may not be enough borrowers to warrant the current mortgage war.
“While it is clear that there are lot of players out there lending aggressively, the question is, is there going to be the demand from the consumer side? The indications that I have seen are that housing stock is down and consumers are not necessarily out there looking for mortgages at the moment,” Mr Shields said.