APRA has confirmed that it will drop the requirement that lenders assess home loan applications using a minimum interest rate of 7 per cent. But commentators caution that any positive impact for borrowers will be largely offset by other changes to lending standards.APRA flagged the change in May, and at the end of last week confirmed that it would drop the provision from its guidance on mortgage serviceability assessments.Instead of the 7 per cent floor (which was 7.25 per cent in practice), banks and other ADIs will be permitted to review and set their own minimum interest rate floor for use in assessments.APRA propose one countervailing measure; it wants lenders to increase the interest rate buffers they use in their assessments from 2.25 per cent to 2.5 per cent.UBS economist George Tharenou said the change would notionally increase borrowing capacity by around 8 per cent, but a move to full verification of living expenses could offset APRA's easing."This materially reduces downside risk for housing and the economy but given ongoing expense verification plus expected rollout of comprehensive credit reporting and debt-to-income limits, it's unlikely to reflate housing on its own," Tharenou said.CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said the impact of the change would be positive for borrowers and the housing market but he also sees the benefits being offset by other changes.In the very short term (meaning over the weekend) - and with typical mass media boosterism - the housing market responded.Preliminary results show that auction clearance rates "were up over the week in all major cities, except Perth," the CoreLogic Weekend Market Summary relates.Melbourne recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 70.3 per cent this week, up from afinal clearance rate of 68.6 per cent a week earlier, while in Sydney the preliminary clearance rate was 78.2 per cent, up from 67.9 per cent. Kusher, in comments from Friday, said the expansion of comprehensive credit reporting, which gives lenders more information about borrowers, could make it harder for people with histories of late payments to get credit. And the introduction of the new Banking Code of Conduct sets higher standards for lenders.Chatter around a backtracking on responsible lending laws is put is dampened today by ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes in an opinion piece for The Australian. "ASIC began a public consultation in February to update our guidance on responsible lending, to ensure that lending is responsible," Hughes reminded the industry. "We've received more than 70 submissions from industry and consumer stakeholders, and we published most of those last week." This process, Hughes makes clear "is not about increasing requirements, but rather clarifying and updating our guidance".Heading off guesswork ASIC will soften its rules and thus lenders may as well loosen their standards now, Hughes implored banks that "until the new guidance is finalised … lenders should have confidence in relying on the existing guidance and expectations".The 7 per cent rule has been in place since December 2014, when APRA also introduced the interest rate buffer and the 10 per cent