29 July 2021 Foreign owners selling their New Zealand residential properties at more than twice the rate they are buying them
27 July 2021 Latest Reserve Bank monthly figures show $8.5 billion of mortgages were advanced last month, which was easily a record for a June; over $50 billion of mortgages taken out in first six months of year
26 July 2021 Leaky apartments are often the best sellers at auction but they are selling for savagely discounted prices
21 July 2021 Economists at the country's largest bank believe inflation will stay elevated - above the RBNZ's targeted level - for about the next 12 months before declining again
20 July 2021 Supply issues facing builders have made the challenge to address the country's housing shortage that much harder, say Kiwibank economists; new supply now 'at risk'
16 July 2021 Statistics New Zealand says the Consumers Price Index rose 1.3% in June quarter, a rise which is far more than economists expected; August 18 RBNZ rate hike now seems a done deal
14 July 2021 Bank economists respond to a hawkish RBNZ, picking an OCR hike for August, but opinion remains divided over whether the economy needs cooling just yet
09 July 2021 How all the mortgage debt we've racked up will see an OCR hike have a particularly large cooling effect on the economy
08 July 2021 Economists at the four biggest banks now all see the Reserve Bank starting to hike interest rates in November
29 June 2021 Resource Management Act replacement to put numerical limits on pollution levels, while focussing on ensuring houses and infrastructure are built
28 June 2021 Sales rate of 89% at Auckland apartment auction with investors and owner-occupiers both showing more interest
28 June 2021 Kiwis have poured over $40 billion worth of mortgage money into the stratospheric housing market so far this year
23 June 2021 ANZ report says house prices holding up better than expected but warns of consequences of rising interest rates
20 June 2021 Fewer new homes now being completed in Auckland compared to the second half of last year
18 June 2021 ANZ economists now forecast the Reserve Bank will start increasing the Official Cash Rate in February next year following the stunning 1.6% GDP rise for the March quarter
17 June 2021 Finance Minister agrees 'in-principle' to give RBNZ debt-to-income tools; Consensus yet to be reached on how the impact on first-home buyers would be minimised
14 June 2021 Economists have been upwardly adjusting their economic forecasts in recent days in the face of stronger-than-expected data and the major bank economists now see first quarter GDP producing a positive figure - IE economic growth
11 June 2021 What constitutes a 'new build' under the new interest deductibility rules and extension of the bright-line test? Govt consults on design of property tax changes
28 May 2021 How high household debt and the swathe of mortgages due to rollover within the next year could make NZ particularly sensitive to interest rate rises... should they eventuate soon
27 May 2021 April mortgage borrowing has slowed, but is still running at historically high levels; first home buyers have strongly increased their share of the borrowing, while investor figures are down
24 May 2021 Although some of the froth has come off the prices being achieved at auction over the last few weeks, there's nothing to suggest a major collapse in prices since changes to tax rules on residential investment properties were announced
21 May 2021 Treasury concedes that the Government's changes to housing policy will result in slower economic recovery and 'prolong the period of monetary support needed'
20 May 2021 Average nationwide rent on newly tenanted properties up 6.5%, but Auckland and Queenstown differ from the rest of New Zealand
20 May 2021 Rising debt and interest rates risk making a ‘sharp adjustment’ in house prices even sharper
19 May 2021 Two-thirds of Auckland first home buyers in March borrowed at a DTI of over five - and their mortgage sizes averaged in excess of $750,000 each
17 May 2021 The number of new homes being built in Auckland is at its highest level since records began in 2013
13 May 2021 The sales rate at property auctions has declined from about three quarters to just over half over the last three months
12 May 2021 The boom in the construction sector is not confined to housing, non-residential construction activity has also increased to record levels over the year to March
30 April 2021 Kiwis have again been borrowing up large, with nearly $10.5 billion loaned by the banks in the past month for mortgages; first home buyers borrowed a record amount; investors borrowed close to record levels
29 April 2021 Ministry of Housing and Urban Development was asked for advice on temporary rent controls, as it warned the Government taxing investors more could increase rents
28 April 2021 RBNZ to provide Govt with advice on debt-to-income and interest-only mortgage restrictions weeks after it releases its Financial Stability Report on May 5
27 April 2021 The number of properties being sold at auction exceeds the number being passed in by the barest of margins
22 April 2021 ANZ economists say after the recent housing policy changes by the Government there's a greater chance that interest rate increases could cause investors to sell up; RBNZ may wait too long to raise rates
19 April 2021 The overall sales rate at Barfoot & Thompson's auction has declined for five weeks in a row
15 April 2021 Auckland's residential building boom continues, with new homes completed in February up 36% compared to a year earlier
14 April 2021 RBNZ leaves monetary policy settings as they are, noting it'll take 'considerable time and patience' to reach its inflation and employment targets
13 April 2021 RBNZ expected to put the property investor crackdown, trans-Tasman bubble, slowing growth and higher inflation expectations aside, and take a breather before changing monetary policy
06 April 2021 Latest figures from the Reserve Bank confirm the massive surge in house prices toward the end of last year saw buyers stretch themselves much further financially
01 April 2021 QV House Price Index, March 2021: House values continue to climb as new government measures announced
30 March 2021 Fewer apartments, stand alone houses and retirement village units were consented in February but more townhouses and home units
29 March 2021 Insurance Council warns owners of units in complexes without body corps could struggle to get cover or face uphill battles when making claims
26 March 2021 Investors seeking smaller commercial premises throughout the country as an alternative to residential investment property
23 March 2021 Housing policy package: Bright-line test extended, interest deductibility loophole closed, caps on first home products lifted, more money set aside for supporting development
22 March 2021 The number of new homes being completed in Auckland has doubled over the last five years and is continuing to rise
18 March 2021 Kiwis borrowed easily the most ever for house purchases in a January month, with investors prominent in the frenzy
12 March 2021 IMF suggests the Government targets investors with a stamp duty or more comprehensive capital gains tax
09 March 2021 More than half the new homes consented last year were stand alone houses, less than 10% were apartments
05 March 2021 Auckland may lead the housing market down as LVR restrictions, higher levels of residential construction and eventual higher interest rates start to kick in
03 March 2021 Westpac report says rising interest rates and increased housing supply with slower population growth will start to cool the housing market
25 February 2021 Robertson to require the RBNZ to consider house prices when setting monetary policy and through the way it regulates banks; Seeks more info on DTIs and interest only mortgages
23 February 2021 The past year finished with the fourth consecutive monthly record high of mortgage lending, while despite the 'lost' month of April, some $8 billion more was borrowed in 2020 than the year before
22 February 2021 Even CBD shoebox apartments are attracting multiple bids at auction, although vendors will need to be realistic with their price expectations
19 February 2021 RBNZ expects LVRs to shave up to 4 percentage points off house price inflation and lower bank lending to property investors by as much as 40%
17 February 2021 The strong housing market has helped propel Fletcher Building's NZ residential construction business to a 130% rise in profits
16 February 2021 Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures reveal big regional differences in the housing market at the start of the year
15 February 2021 Supply may be catching up with demand in Auckland's over heated housing market but there's still a shortage of stock in other regions
10 February 2021 The RBNZ suggests exempting certain groups from debt-to-income restrictions would be difficult, as the Finance Minister expresses concerns over the impact these restrictions would have on first-home buyers
28 January 2021 Activity is already heating up at residential property auctions and there's plenty of activity on the commercial property front too
27 January 2021 Global independent economic researchers Capital Economics have doubled down on forecasts of rising interest rates from next year and now see quantitative easing ending by the middle of this year
26 January 2021 Low interest rates have created winners and losers in the housing market as the COVID-19 pandemic rumbles on
25 January 2021 Economist Brian Easton says the Treasury forecasts suggest the economy is doing better than expected after the Covid shock
22 January 2021 Govt to unveil demand-side housing response and 'high-level' decisions around the RMA in February, followed by supply-side measures at the May Budget
21 January 2021 ANZ economists expect the housing market will cool 'in time', but exactly when is highly uncertain, given that momentum in the market can be slow to moderate
21 January 2021 Sales of both farm and lifestyle properties in the fourth quarter well up on a year earlier
20 January 2021 David Hargreaves says the ability of first home buyers to keep competing in the viciously competitive housing market will be a key thing to watch this year
19 January 2021 Economists see the longer term outlook for inflation as more stable, therefore reducing pressure on the Reserve Bank to keep lowering interest rates
14 January 2021 ANZ economists forecast an OCR cut to 0.10% in May, but no longer see the RBNZ making the leap into negative territory
11 January 2021 Encouraged by the RBNZ, one major bank offers a 2.29% one year fixed home loan rate. It is almost certain to signal a new round of mortgage rate cuts that will juice up the already-hot housing market
23 December 2020 Broad discrepancy between the interest rates the major banks use to test mortgage borrowers' ongoing ability to service their loans
22 December 2020 The benefits of rising wages and lower interest rates on mortgage payments for first home buyers have been more than wiped out by rising house prices
22 December 2020 ASB, BNZ, Westpac and Kiwibank indicate they will not be matching ANZ's requirement for housing investors to have 40% deposits at this stage
21 December 2020 With hundreds of fixed term rental agreements on Auckland CBD apartments about to expire, investors are worried about the potential for rising vacancy levels and falling rents
17 December 2020 Property prices have surged in Akaroa and Waihi Beach but there were surprising price falls in Onetangi on Waiheke Island and in Coromandel
15 December 2020 Barfoot & Thompson's auction numbers have started to dip ahead of the Christmas break
11 December 2020 Sallies call for RBNZ to provide banks with guidance to help curb risk-aversion when it comes to lending against housing with alternative tenures such as progressive & co-ownership ownership
09 December 2020 Reserve Bank expects 'temporary, small negative effect' on economic activity after reintroduction of mortgage lending limits next March
08 December 2020 ASB economists say NZ can now 'probably overbuild' for the next couple of years, though there is 'some risk' in doing this
03 December 2020 New research identifies thousands of coastal properties in the 1-in-100-year flood zone that have another 15 years before facing serious insurance issues
29 November 2020 ANZ's economists don't think the current heat in the housing market will last, expecting it to cool next year
28 November 2020 Latest Reserve Bank monthly mortgage figures show $7.8 bln advanced for mortgages last month - beating previous record set only a month earlier; investors on the march
27 November 2020 Rents in Auckland up by $13 a week compared to a year ago, while rents in Queenstown are down $114 a week
24 November 2020 Auckland's housing crisis starting to ease as supply starts to overtake demand and accumulated housing shortage starts to shrink
19 November 2020 Latest Reserve Bank figures on household debt to income ratios show more mortgage money being borrowed at in excess of five times annual income - but Auckland may be reaching limits
13 November 2020 Geoff Bascand clarifies the RBNZ wants to reimpose the exact same LVR restrictions in place earlier this year, so most owner-occupiers will need a 20% deposit
12 November 2020 Kiwibank economists say the current performance of the housing market is 'not consistent' with an economy in the midst of the worst recession in 100 years
04 November 2020 Barfoot & Thompson's October sales jump 60% year-on-year, average selling price tops $1 million for the first time
03 November 2020 CEO David McLean says Westpac NZ is open for business but has not loosened its LVR lending limits since the Reserve Bank said it could
30 October 2020 The number of new homes being completed in Auckland appears to be easing back from recent highs
30 October 2020 Latest Reserve Bank monthly mortgage figures show over $7.3 bln advanced for mortgages last month; advances to first home buyers hit record high also; high LVR lending to investors has tripled since June
28 October 2020 Jenée Tibshraeny looks at the tough calls the Government needs to make around spreading the cost of climate and natural disaster risk
27 October 2020 House prices at the bottom of the market have been largely flat in Auckland for several months but have kept rising in most of the rest of the country
26 October 2020 Lifestyle blocks sales up 70% compared to a year ago, prices up 8.6% over the same period
22 October 2020 ANZ chairman John Key warns against creating 'zombie companies' and 'an asset bubble that's going to burst on us'
21 October 2020 Adrian Orr says the RBNZ is seeing early signs of house prices being driven by high leverage loans and by investors rather than households
20 October 2020 BNZ report warns the renewed surge in house prices could increase the wealth gap between the haves and have nots
05 October 2020 First home buyers' share of the mortgage market has almost doubled over the last five years
