The Property Institute is again calling for the Reserve Bank to exempt first-home buyers from the current loan-to-value ratio restrictions, labelling LVRs a ``devastating failure'' and ``artificial barrier''. ``This constitutes a massive crisis and is the primary reason that many Kiwis now can't get into their first home,'' Mr Church said. The main barrier to first-home ownership wasn't housing affordability or the cost of servicing a mortgage but the LVR restrictions, he said. ``The LVR restrictions on first-home buyers have been a devastating failure and have, instead, ended up creating a `perfect storm' in which property investors have been able to snap up homes that might traditionally have been bought by Kiwi families,'' he said. ``The situation is now beyond ridiculous and it's time for this ill-conceived experiment to end,'' Mr Church said.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 26, 2016 16:52 UTC