Stand to be corrected but I don't think that they are really lending...they may say they are but I have spoken to a few people whose business is to know these things and that's what they told me.
Full mortgage approval and actual draw down can be two very different things. There have been a number of cases where the banks have changed the requirements after the approval was given.
While I'd agreed that a couple here and there might not mean much, the fact that there was only 450 mortgages last quarter, as a percentage it is substantial enough.
It does seem like they are more restricting their criteria and going back to prudent lending practices. Gone are the days of 0% down and ah sure you can fill out the forms once your settled.