Australian lenders are clamping down on home loans to foreigners as concerns about the health of the nation’s housing market mount.
Westpac Banking Corp. will no longer lend to offshore customers who aren’t citizens or who don’t hold appropriate residency visas, it said in an e-mail Wednesday. It follows Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd. and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., which have tightened funding to overseas customers.
The changes made by the biggest banks in the country are part of a broader scrutiny of foreign buying of Australian homes, which has helped drive a 55 percent jump in home prices across the nation’s capital cities in the past seven years. Rising demand, particularly from China, has triggered community concern that locals are being priced out of the property market, prompting the government to tighten scrutiny of foreign investment.
Australian Lenders Are Clamping Down on Foreign Buying of Homes
When will the Canadian and B.C. Government follow a playbook similar to other commonwealth nations? Voice your support if you believe it should.
