Australia's moves to cool property prices start to bite

Sydney

ONE of the key engines of Australia's five-year housing boom is losing steam.

Property investors, who have stoked soaring home prices in Australia, are being squeezed as regulators impose restrictions to rein in lending. The nation's biggest banks have this year raised minimum deposits, tightened eligibility requirements and raised rates on interest-only mortgages - a form of financing favoured by people buying homes to rent out or hold as investment.