Big four players will have to hold more capital to cover lending above 80 per cent of the value of property.

The Reserve Bank has given its strongest signal yet that it intends to restrict mortgage lending at high loan-to-value ratios, to rein in credit growth and house price inflation it already regards as "problematic".

The bank confirmed yesterday that it will increase, from September, how much capital the big four banks have to hold to cover lending at LVRs above 80 per cent.

That raises the permanent baseline from which potential temporary, counter-cyclical restrictions on LVRs would apply.

Such restrictions are one of four "macro-prudential" policy instruments the bank wants to have at its disposal.

There is still some process to go through: the conclusion, expected soon, of a memorandum of understanding with the Government, and a further round of consultation, over the next couple of months, with the banks on data and implementation issues.

But the Reserve Bank said there would be no major changes from the regime it outlined in March.

Lending at LVRs above 80 per cent represents about 20 per cent of the banks' home loan book and about 30 per cent of new lending, of which about a third is over 90 per cent.

Such loans are most prevalent among people buying their first home.

The statement indicates the bank does not favour exemptions for first-home buyers, as are made in some overseas jurisdictions, or attempts to target the regime regionally - that is, on Auckland.

But it remains an open question whether LVR restrictions would take the form of prohibiting any lending above the prescribed level, or imposing a "speed limit" or quota which would limit the amount of such lending banks could undertake.

Underlying this initiative is Reserve Bank concern about the risks to financial stability posed by accelerating house price inflation from a starting point of prices already high relative to incomes.

Governor Graeme Wheeler said that in the March quarter house prices nationwide were 8 to 9 per cent higher than in the same period last year. In Auckland and Christchurch, which account for more than half of house sales, they had risen 13.5 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
ASB's quarterly survey of housing market sentiment found expectations of house price inflation over the year ahead have hit a new record, exceeding the previous peak in 2003.

That was the start of a housing boom larger than in any other developed country and unlike several northern hemisphere countries the boom was not followed by a bust.

Underpinning the surge in house prices is pent-up demand, supply-side constraints and the lowest mortgage rates in 50 years - which is something Wheeler can do something about but is reluctant to with the dollar as high as it is.

The financial stability report noted that construction firms continue to report difficulties obtaining finance, more so than any other sector.

So while the banks are happy to stoke the demand side of the housing market through lower mortgage rates and high-LVR loans, they are wary of aiding the supply side by filling the gap left by the collapse of finance companies, which were important suppliers of funding to property developers.

The Reserve Bank also said there were signs that the recovery in household savings since the global financial crisis might be stalling.

"Household debt is rising from a level that is already high relative to incomes."

Coupled with increasing demand for credit, that trend would increase banks' need to borrow offshore.

While confidence in global markets had improved, lowering New Zealand banks' funding costs in the process, the international outlook remained fragile and there were likely to be periodic bouts of financial market turbulence and instability, it said.

银行发表限制房贷的声明

储备银行行长格雷姆•惠勒说，在今年第一季度，房价比去年同期高出8％至9％。储备银行已给予其最强的信号，它打算实行高贷款价值比率（LVR）来限制房屋贷款，以遏制信贷增长和房价通胀. 现在的贷款中LVR超过80%的占一半以上。其中20%存在于再次购房者，约30%存在于新的贷款。而在新贷款中有1/3的LVR在90%以上，普遍都是首次购房者。

银行发表声明，从9月开始,四大银行将实行贷款率（LVR）不能超过80%的政策.就是说，购房者必须要有房价的20%以上的存款作为购房的首期款。

这一举措背后，是储备银行担心房价通胀加速，因为从起点价格相对于收入来说已经很高了，这会对财政稳定构成的风险。行长格雷姆•惠勒说，全国今年第一季度平均房价比去年同期高出8％至9％。其中奥克兰和基督城，占房屋销售总量的一半以上，这两个城市的房价已上涨了13.5％和10％。ASB的季度住房市场调查发现，过去一年房价通胀的预期提前创下新的纪录，超过2007年的一个峰值。房价激增的原因是房屋数量的紧缺，住房的需要却增加，以及50年来最低的房屋贷款利率。而纽币的汇率也处在相对高的状态，所以银行方面暂时没有采取其他的举措。

金融稳定报告指出,建筑公司继续表明相对于其他任何部门，它们很难获得融资。
因此,银行虽乐于通过执行较低的抵押贷款利率和高LVR贷款去助长房地产的需求,但他们却需要谨慎地融资给金融公司，避免金融公司倒闭后无法向房地产开发商提供重要资金。

另外，新西兰首席银行经济师Tony Alexander表示，政府在加快批出住宅营建許可，但这只能轻微解决房屋短缺問題。他說，需要多年時間才能令房屋供求取得平衡，在這段日子，房价会持续上升。他估計房屋至少会继续上升三年。在高LVR政策实行之前房地产市场就会持续火热，而且面对着低利率的现状，对于有足够首期款的购房者更不会有大的影响。所以对于买房投资者来说，仍然可以在近期做好购房的计划。