Sydney

AUSTRALIA & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is raising the mortgage rate for landlords, the first major Australian lender to do so amid a regulatory crackdown to temper soaring home prices. The country's fourth largest mortgage lender will increase its variable rate by 27 basis points to 5.65 per cent and fixed rate by 30 basis points from Aug 10, it said in a statement on Thursday. This is the first time since 1997 that owner-occupiers will get better rates than investors, said Melbourne-based spokesman Stephen Ries. ANZ's move is the latest in a series of steps by lenders after a 43 per cent surge in Sydney's home prices since May 2012 fuelled concerns of a property bubble.

Banks have also removed interest rate discounts on home loans to investors, and this month lowered the amount that they can borrow relative to the value of the property.