Macquarie Bank’s securitisation arm has privately issued RMBS containing $500 million worth of low doc loans, the first such deal since the the global financial crisis hit.
According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, the issuance comes on the back of a ramp up in demand from investors for low quality mortgages.
Last week, Macquarie Securitisation sold a $1.2 billion bond with a pool of residential mortages as the underlying asset.
Reports suggest at least 46 per cent of the bond is low doc loans, with the remainder comprising of fully verified income loans.
Division director of Macquarie's debt origination and structuring team, Kevin Lee, said the bond was privately arranged for a group of institutional investors, who have not been named.
"We have not seen public transactions [with] this amount of low doc [loans] for a long time," he said.
"But there are private investors who have effectively said they are happy to take them …
"It is not necessarily reflective of what the broader market will take at this time."
Commercial issuers have sold nearly $5 billion worth of RMBS so far this year, according to Westpac Credit Research, including a $1.1 billion issuance by Bendigo Adelaide Bank and a $650 million issuance by Bankwest last week.
In a sign that property investors are coming back into the market, Data from the Australian Tax Office has found that one in seven taxpayers now own at least one investment property.
Figures released yesterday by the Tax Office show negatively geared property generated losses of more than $8.6 billion, a 35 per cent surge that saved property investors some $4 billion in tax.
Queensland and NSW residents were the most enthusiastic property investors, accounting for 60 per cent of the $8.6 billion in losses.
People earning between $30,000 and $75,000 a year represented the largest group of taxpayers who held property investments and they claimed $3.6 billion in losses.
Dr Ken Henry, author of the Henry Report said his research would canvass the taxation of housing, such as negative gearing, capital gains tax and stamp duty.
Dr Henry said he favours a tax system that does not heavily favour debt funding like negative gearing over equity funding.
First homebuyers flee as investors return in record numbers
11/03/2010
The number of first homebuyers has dwindled following a string of rate rises and the withdrawal of the government grant boost.
According to the latest data from Australian Finance Group (AFG), the proportion of loans taken by first time buyers sank to just 11.3% in February 2010 - the lowest level since February 2009. First homebuyer's activity has fallen continuously since August 2009.
In contrast, investors have continued to dominate the market, taking 34.1% of the total loans sold by the mortgage broker. Mark Hewitt, general manager for sales and operations said this is the highest level the company has ever recorded and corresponds to a 25% increase from six months ago.
Investors in NSW were the most active, taking 38.5% of all loans while Victoria saw loans for property investment climb to 37.2%. WA and Queensland recorded the lowest proportion of investment loans during February at 29.9% and 29.5% respectively although these figures represent robust levels of investment activity.
"Investor confidence has been rising for several months, but we haven't been expecting a figure for February as strong as this one," said Hewitt.
"Investors are now the driving force of the market, encouraged by rising property prices in recent months, and the longer term view that a housing shortfall will continue to underpin future price growth as well as rental yields."
