2w ago

Banks will be told to disregard student loans in mortgage tests

www.abc.net.au Access to home loans to be easier for buyers with student debt

APRA will also clarify that property developers do not need to have sold all units off the plan to get a loan.

In short:
Banks will be told not to count HECS-HELP and other student loans in debt calculations for home loans, and to disregard HELP repayments from serviceability assessments.
APRA will also update lending rules for housing developers to clarify that a block of units does not need to be fully sold off the plan to qualify for a loan.
What's next?
The Coalition is mulling its own move on lending requirements, with a proposal soon to come before shadow cabinet.

8 comments

Seems like a terrible idea to me. People have to repay student loans, meaning that those repayment amounts should be taken into account when determining how much money they can afford to repay on a mortgage. Disregarding them is just going to mean giving loans out that people can't afford to repay....maybe that's the goal?
- One can just pay the student loan passively through tax, no? Sadly, I would answer affirmatively to the final question.
  
  Yes, but it still means you have less cash in hand than if you didn't have it, so it definitely should affect your borrowing ability.
- I think with rents how high they are there's people who may end up paying less if they get a mortgage they just need to get in