They might find themselves in a situation where the value of the apartment in the current environment is less than they contracted to pay for it. And as market pricing falls, lenders will revise their valuations down https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/sp-ag-2019-03-20.html  5/14  3/20/2019  Property, Debt and Financial Stability | Speeches | RBA  and so will be willing to lend less.
Households will therefore have to contribute more funds, either from their own savings or loans from other sources. The second risk is to developers who are delivering completed apartments into the cooling market. If people who had pre-purchased are having difficulty getting finance, or decide it is not worth going ahead with the purchase, there would be increasing settlement failures.