Home loans stories
Nationwide house prices climbed 1.3% in October as low rates and scarce listings kept demand ahead of supply.
Tighter lending criteria and renewed virus restrictions are likely to cool mortgage demand after July’s NZD $6.6 billion peak.
Property activity is likely to soften as recession, rising unemployment and a spring listings surge test demand in coming months.
House prices and sales have climbed to four-year highs in New Zealand, despite earlier fears of a post-COVID downturn.
Property values have already slipped nationwide, with tourism-dependent centres like Queenstown hardest hit as the recession starts to bite.
First-home buyers could face lower deposit hurdles as the Reserve Bank weighs scrapping mortgage loan-to-value rules for a year.
Lower borrowing costs are expected to bolster New Zealand property demand, with record-low interest rates giving buyers greater certainty and confidence.
New Zealand home values kept climbing in February, lifting the average house to NZD $722,475 and worsening affordability for buyers.
Demand for affordable Auckland townhouses is squeezing supply, as first-home buyers snap up projects off the plans before building begins.
Auckland's housing recovery is gathering pace, with low rates and tight listings expected to push prices higher in 2020.
House price growth is expected to remain modest as easing lending conditions and strong migration support demand, but listings stay tight.
Looser deposit rules and bigger grants could help tenants buy sooner as Government-backed schemes are made more accessible.
Widening the KiwiSaver HomeStart grants could help more first-home buyers bridge soaring deposits as rents climb and rates stay low.
Auckland’s more permissive zoning is helping ease prices, widen lending and give first-time buyers a better shot at home ownership.
Affordability is pushing first home buyers to dominate purchases in several New Zealand suburbs, with some taking more than 60% of sales.
Borrowers could see lower mortgage rates after the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate to 1.5% and hinted at another fall this year.
Tighter lending, weak wage growth and fewer homes on the market are limiting any relief for first-time buyers as prices fall.
Low mortgage rates should keep property demand supported after the Reserve Bank left the official cash rate unchanged again, though risks remain.
Sydney and Melbourne buyers face the sharpest hit as Morgan Stanley warns Australian house prices could fall 20 per cent and construction slows.
Low interest rates and looser lending are expected to cushion New Zealand property values, with first-home buyers set to gain most.
