Mortgage brokers say low deposit borrowers and first home buyers will take another hit, after Westpac introduced a two-tier lending system that will further shut them out of the housing market.
The bank yesterday split its lending rates, so those with deposits lower than 20 per cent pay a higher rate.
One of the options for low deposit borrowers will leave them paying 7.1 per cent on three-year fixed mortgages, compared with a 5.99 per cent rate offered to people with larger deposits.
A mortgage broker director, Bruce Patten, says one-off bank fees and low equity margins have been steadily going up since the Reserve Bank introduced new regulations in October.
