I'm of the view that most of the data suggests that we're in the early stages of a not insignificant house price correction, one that I suspect will unfold over the next couple of years.
It would not surprise me if lenders are of a similar view, so perhaps that's what you're seeing; remember it always takes quite a while for the general public to re-align their perception of value when the market turns and there's no reason to think it would be any different this time.
I realise that's not what you would like to hear given your position, so hopefully I'm wrong.