Australian interest rates New Zealand Economy

Unlike NZ, housing inflation is a thorn in the Reserve Bank’s side

Wednesday 22 July 2026

Unlike in Australia, trimmed mean inflation in New Zealand looks to be behaving, tracking within the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target band of 1% to 3%, according to Justin Fabo at Antipodean Macro:

One reason for New Zealand’s lower trimmed mean inflation is that housing inflation – i.e., rents and new dwelling purchases – comprises 21% of the CPI basket and remains well contained:

New Zealand rental inflation, in particular, has fallen sharply and is tracking at its lowest level in more than 20 years:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.