Buckle up for the banks’ mortgage war! Home loans have fallen off a cliff

July 30, 2026 — 3:16pm

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The evidence is overwhelmingly in – home loan applications haven’t just dropped, they have fallen off a cliff.

Thanks to the Reserve Bank’s interest rate rises and the federal budget tax policy, prospective home borrowers have been caught in a pincer squeeze, spooked out of taking out loans to buy housing. Add to that the fact that house prices are declining, and it’s easy to understand their reluctance.

National Australia Bank was the latest of the four banks to provide a taste of the size of this cliff, telling investors that Australian home loan applications were down 15 per cent in the June quarter compared to the March quarter.

Last month, Westpac revealed a 20 per cent fall in its housing investor loan applications over the three-week period following the May budget.

So, buckle up for the mortgage pricing war that will inevitably follow as the banks attempt to woo customers.

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© The Sydney Morning Herald