Recent data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), collated by Interest.co.nz, showed that Kiwis leveraged big time into property ahead of the Ardern Government’s investor tax reforms (announced in late March). The proportion of new mortgages taken out with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios above five soared over the March quarter, with all borrower groups
In March two key reforms came into effect designed to take the steam out of New Zealand’s fast inflating property market. First, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reintroduced loan-to-value ratio (LVR) mortgage restrictions, which from 1 March 2021 required both investors and owner-occupiers to hold bigger deposits: Second, and more importantly, the New Zealand
The introduction of the trans-Tasman travel bubble on 18 April 2021 has boosted international travel, according to new provisional travel statistics from the ABS. Arrivals of non-Australian citizens doubled in May to 71,060 from 35,210 in April: This was driven by a 32,000 increase in arrivals from New Zealand: In a similar vein, departures of
For months we have witnessed Australia’s hospitality industry whine over labour shortages and lobby the federal government to give it easier access to foreign workers. At the same time the hospitality industry contradictorily called for an extension of JobKeeper and has lobbied to freeze the minimum wage. We are seeing the same shenanigans over the
Interest.co.nz’s David Hargreaves has posted the below stunning chart showing that Kiwis have leveraged big time into non-productive housing lending, whereas consumer lending has also rebounded hard. By contrast, lending to productive areas of the economy – businesses and agriculture – continues to fall: While the mortgage borrowing has been mounting and mounting, business lending
Over the last two months, Jacinda Ardern’s New Zealand Labour Government has launched two major reforms to wean the nation off ponzi-led growth, namely: announcing major property tax reforms targeted at investors that: extend the term of the Bright Line Test for taxing capital gains on investment property from five years to 10 years; and
ANZ has published a note explaining how New Zealand’s closed international border is rapidly solving the nation’s chronic housing shortage, which dramatically worsened over the past decade as immigration ran hot: The closed border means the New Zealand housing market is in the rare position of being able to build enough houses to keep up
Earlier this month, the Ardern Labour Government of New Zealand vowed to end low-skilled, wage crushing migration via a “once-in-a generation” reset for New Zealand’s immigration system. It flagged a significantly smaller migration intake post-Covid that focuses on highly skilled, highly paid and productive migrants that fill genuine skills shortages. This means abolishing the current
New data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, collated by Interest.co.nz, shows that Kiwis leveraged big time into property ahead of the Ardern Government’s investor tax reforms (announced in late March). The proportion of new mortgages taken out with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios above five soared in the March quarter, with all borrower groups rising:
A fortnight ago, Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government tasked the New Zealand Productivity Commission (PC) with undertaking a system-wide review of the nation’s immigration program, with particular focus on the “impact of immigration on the labour market, housing and associated infrastructure, and the natural environment”. The goal of the inquiry is to “enable New Zealand to strategically
In March we witnessed two key reforms come into effect designed to take the steam out of New Zealand’s inflating property market. First, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reintroduced loan-to-value ratio (LVR) mortgage restrictions, which from 1 March 2021 required both investors and owner-occupiers to hold bigger deposits: Second, and more importantly, the New Zealand
Last week, Jacinda Ardern’s Labor Government tasked the New Zealand Productivity Commission (PC) with undertaking a system-wide review of the nation’s immigration program, with particular focus on the “impact of immigration on the labour market, housing and associated infrastructure, and the natural environment”. The goal of the inquiry is to “enable New Zealand to strategically
The Trans-Tasman travel bubble has been suspended after a few cases of COVID community transmission appeared across Sydney. While only two community cases have been identified – a husband and wife – NSW authorities have yet to identify the “missing link” that transmitted the virus from the returning traveller into the community: “What we’re concerned
New evidence has emerged showing that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) played a direct role in inflating New Zealand’s property market, which has experienced its strongest price growth in decades. In April 2020, the RBNZ removed loan-to-value (LVR) mortgage restrictions to stimulate the economy amid COVID-19 lockdowns, which in the words of the
Capital Economics believes that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will be forced to raise interest rates next year on the back of the tightening labour market: The decline in the unemployment rate to 4.7% in New Zealand is consistent with our view that a continued tightening in the labour market will support the
NAB’s latest survey of real estate professionals revealed that the share of Australian homes sold to foreign buyers hit the lowest level in records dating back to 2010, accounting for only 2.2% of established home sales in Q1 2021: New data released today by Statistics New Zealand reveals that foreign buyers have also lost interest
Jacinda Ardern’s Labor Government has tasked the New Zealand Productivity Commission (PC) tom undertake a system-wide review of the nation’s immigration program, focusing on the “impact of immigration on the labour market, housing and associated infrastructure, and the natural environment”. The goal of the inquiry is to “enable New Zealand to strategically optimise its immigration
In March we witnessed two key reforms come into effect designed to take the steam out of New Zealand’s inflating property market. First, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reintroduced loan-to-value ratio (LVR) mortgage restrictions, which from 1 March 2021 required both investors and owner-occupiers to hold bigger deposits: Second, and more importantly, the New Zealand
Last month we witnessed two key reforms come into effect designed to take the steam out of New Zealand’s inflating property market. First, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reintroduced loan-to-value ratio (LVR) mortgage restrictions, which from 1 March 2021 required both investors and owner-occupiers to hold bigger deposits: Second, and more importantly, the New
Over the past month we have witnessed two fundamental reforms to New Zealand’s property market. First, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reintroduced loan-to-value ratio (LVR) mortgage restrictions, which from 1 March 2021 required both investors and owner-occupiers to stump-up bigger deposits: Second, and more importantly, the New Zealand Government on 23 March announced
As Australia’s relationship with China has shifted to a more realistic footing in the past twelve months, New Zealand has been practising a very studied strategic ambiguity. This reached an ugly head several months ago when Trade Minister Damien O’Connor advised Australia to grovel a lot more. Today we had another example of NZ’s double
New data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reveals that the proportion of new mortgages taken out with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios above five soared in the December quarter, with all borrower groups rising: Auckland home buyers in general are far more leveraged than New Zealanders as a whole. Nearly two thirds (64.8%) of
Late last year, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (REINZ) announced plans to increase tier one capital requirements for all systematically important banks to 16% of risk weighted assets, up from 13.5%. New Zealand’s big four Australian-owned banks were, therefore, placed directly in the REINZ’s cross-hairs given they comprise nearly 90% of the nation’s banking
Via the always fun to read Albert Edwards at Societe General: With some calm returning to the markets, it’s probably a good moment to step back and consider one of the most important developments in monetary policy in recent years. Who knows, it might even reverse the collapse in young men’s sex lives? A few
New Zealand’s Ardern Labour Government yesterday announced sweeping property tax reforms targeted at investors, namely: extending the term of the Bright Line Test for taxing capital gains on investment property from five years to 10 years; and fully removing the tax deductibility of mortgage interest payments on residential investment properties. The reforms came out of
New Zealand Prime Minister has once again pumped the brakes on a Trans-Tasman travel bubble, despite Australia allowing unrestricted entry to Kiwis: “We know what it would mean for people but we also know that many New Zealanders are nervous”… She said a number of measures needed to be in place to ensure a bubble
The New Zealand Government has taken direct aim at property investors, extending the term of the Bright Line Test for taxing capital gains on housing and fully removing the tax deductibility of mortgage interest payments on residential investment properties. The measures are expected to come into effect this weekend. Moreover, the Government will extend the
The one-again, off-again Trans-Tasman Travel Bubble is on again, with officials from both New Zealand and Australia hinting that it could be in place by mid-April, thus allowing unrestricted two-way travel between both nations. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson made the declaration yesterday, which was supported by Tourism Minister Dan Teehan: “We were
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) released data yesterday showing that new mortgage commitments hit their highest level on record in January driven by strong growth in both owner-occupiers and investors. In the year to January 2021, $77.9 billion worth of mortgages were issued, 6% higher than the previous peak of $73.6 billion in
Less than a month ago, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) projected that New Zealand house price growth would peak at 22% mid-year, which would be the strongest growth since 2003: Now the government-owned Kiwibank has upped the ante, forecasting that New Zealand house prices would peak at 25% by mid-2021: We had expected
