30/11/2025
📉 Major Update for Home Buyers & Investors: APRA imposes new lending limits.
To protect the financial system from rising risks, APRA is stepping in to cap high debt-to-income (DTI) lending. Here is what you need to know about the changes coming next year:
• The New Limit: Banks will be restricted to lending no more than 20% of their new mortgages to borrowers with debt that is 6 times their income or greater.
• Why Now? APRA wants to pre-emptively stop the build-up of risky debt, specifically citing a recent rise in high DTI lending among investors.
• Who is Affected? The limit applies separately to both owner-occupiers and investors, though investors are expected to feel the impact more.
• When does it start? The changes take effect on February 1, 2026.
• The Good News: Loans for new home construction and bridging loans for owner-occupiers are excluded from this cap to support housing supply.