Building costs have shot up by a whopping 40% over the last 3-4 years, and when you throw in sky-high interest rates and hurdles from the Resource Management Act, developers and home buyers alike are dealing with a real headache.
Most commentators are picking it'll be late 2024 (or worse, 2025) before interest rates start falling again — but the Chief, David Cunningham, reckons there's a strong case for the RBNZ to begin dropping rates much sooner.
New Zealand economic data has painted a pretty sorry picture in recent months. But bad news for the economy will eventually be good news for Kiwi mortgage borrowers when it comes to the future of interest rates.
Later this year, a new set of lending restrictions - DTIs - will come into effect in New Zealand, setting rules for how much people can borrow to buy a home based on a multiple of their income. Here's what you need to know.
The Reserve Bank recently asked for feedback on a new set of lending restrictions - DTIs - it's looking to introduce later this year. Here's what the team at Squirrel had to say as part of our submission.
Many Kiwi who had been holding off selling their properties are now putting them up for sale. But with plenty of existing properties entering the market, the outlook has just darkened further for developers of multi-unit complexes.
Over the life of your mortgage, you'll fork out at tens - probably hundreds - of thousands in interest payments. But there are tricks to help you get your home loan paid off faster, and save a packet.
Once inflation's got its hooks in, it can take years for interest rate hikes to trickle through and reverse the damage. But, as Rodney Dickens explains, a more proactive approach from the RBNZ could go a long way to solving that problem.
The toilet paper shortage crisis is over — but is it turn for housing shortages in New Zealand?
If the Reserve Bank were to raise the cash rate again, they would overly depress the economy and end up having to cut interest rates aggressively through 2025 and 2026. So is it still likely that an extra tightening of monetary policy will occur?
Price rises in recent years have hit some areas much harder than others - and Squirrel guest blogger, Rodney Dickens, reckons the government's got something to do with that (and not in a good way).
The Reserve Bank is giving nothing away ahead of its first Official Cash Rate announcement of the year, in late February, but the market is increasingly anticipating rate falls to start sometime this year.