Soaring Australia home prices could lead to more curbs

Sydney

AUSTRALIA could further curb mortgage lending to investors as the impact of earlier measures wanes and Sydney and Melbourne house prices keep surging, Reserve Bank assistant governor Michele Bullock said.

"There is no doubt that the actions did address some of the risks," she said in Sydney. "While the resilience of both borrowers and lenders has no doubt improved, the initial effects on credit and some other indicators we use to assess risk may fade over time. We are continuing to monitor their ongoing effects and are prepared to do more if needed."