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In late 2022, the RBNZ warned it would need to tip New Zealand into recession in order to get inflation under control. And yet, despite all the rate increases Kiwi borrowers have endured, so far, that promised recession is yet to eventuate. Squirrel guest blogger, Rodney Dickens, explains why that is.

REINZ's latest data tells us that prices are rising, sales have weakened, and houses are selling at a faster pace. But will this continue on into 2024?

It feels pretty clear we're at the top of the current interest rate cycle. But with one more Official Cash Rate announcement to come for the year, what are the expectations for interest rates come 2024?

While floating rates are the norm in Australia, less than 10% of all Kiwi mortgages are on floating rates. The reality for Kiwi is that floating rates are consistently so much more expensive than fixed rates. So what's causing this, and should they be so high?

If all the latest headlines are to be believed, we're in for a big comeback in house prices over the next 12 months or so. But when it comes to the question of "to buy or not to buy?", Squirrel guest blogger Rodney Dickens reckons the numbers don't quite stack up in favour of a house price surge just yet.

For many Kiwi voters, National's win in the recent election probably didn’t come as too much of a surprise — and you can bet that National’s focus, especially over the next 12 months, will be on driving through policies that are designed to bolster the New Zealand economy. So what will this all mean for homeowners and borrowers?

Despite the Reserve Bank holding off on increasing the Official Cash Rate, ANZ has just announced it’s lifting its home loan interest rates across the board by between 0.10% and 0.26%. So why have they increased their rates, and is the move justified?

With National back in government, we can anticipate the return of interest expense deductibility and no-fault tenancy terminations. But will this also bring a surge of property investors with them, and if so, what will this mean for first home buyers?

Heartland Bank has launched a brand-spanking new savings product — the Digital Saver account. And with a 5.00%p.a. interest rate, it sounds pretty good. But there’s something kind of weird about Heartland launching this new account — so what's the deal, and is there a catch?

Central banks the world over have a bit of a bad habit of reactionary decision making. After overstimulating the economy big time when the pandemic hit by dropping rates to record lows, they were much too slow to jack rates up again when inflation started running rampant. And it's created such a big mess that Squirrel guest blogger, Rodney Dickens, reckons we're in for an extended battle to get us out of it again.

The recent migration boom and rising construction costs have contributed to the growth in house prices — but what are the other factors causing them to rise, and how long will prices continue to increase?

The Reserve Bank is holding the OCR steady at 5.50%, and after rumblings from parts of the market that suggest we could be in for another hike, most economists are now predicting the OCR will remain at 5.50% through much of 2024. It’s not the news that Kiwi mortgage-holders were hoping for, but how can Kiwi benefit from higher interest rates?