Bank adjusts credit policy for bridging loans

Key changes include:

• Increases to the minimum serviceability assessment ratio on the estimated end debt where there is no unconditional contract on the property to be sold. The minimum serviceability ratio will be 1.15 for purchases of existing dwellings and 1.25 for construction.
• Maximum LVR on peak debt will be reduced to 80 per cent LVR including capitalised interest.
• Additional verifications will be required as part of the application, including where there is an unconditional contract on the property to be sold, which must be confirmed in writing by the applicant’s conveyancer/solicitor.
• Confirmation that the property to be sold is on the market within 10 per cent of the full valuation value must also be provided prior to settlement for the purchase of an established home, or at the time of final progress payment where construction is involved.

Adelaide Bank’s head of broker distribution, Amanda James, said that the changes were partly motivated by the slowdown in housing market conditions.

“The changes strike the best balance between protecting customers during the current housing market downturn and retaining the flexibility of our popular Go-Between product,” Ms James said.

Property group CoreLogic’s latest Hedonic Home Value Index revealed that national home values dropped by 1 per cent in the month to 31 January 2019, driven by a 1.2 per cent drop in combined capital city dwelling values and a 0.2 per cent fall in regional home prices.

In the month to January, property prices declined in every capital city except Canberra where they rose by 0.2 per cent, with Darwin reporting the sharpest drop (1.7 per cent), followed by Melbourne (1.6 per cent), Sydney (1.3 per cent), Perth (1.1 per cent), Brisbane and Adelaide (0.3 per cent) and Hobart (0.2 per cent).

According to CoreLogic, national home values have fallen by 5.6 per cent year-on-year, with the national median home price declining to $528,553.

Adelaide Bank’s latest credit policy announcement follows its decision to withdraw from low-doc (low-documentation) lending to new and existing customers.

The bank claimed that its decision to retreat from the low-doc lending space was part of its move to “align with industry changes” designed to work in the “best interests of customers”.

[Related: Banks withdraw from low-doc space]