New Zealand’s GDP stats came out this morning and have undershot expectations. Economic activity, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), was up 0.2 percent in the September 2012 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. This growth follows revised growth of 0.3 percent in the June 2012 quarter. The main movements by industry this quarter were: construction (up 4.5 percent),
By Leith van Onselen Please find below an interesting economics research note from the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) on the growing economic imbalances developing in the New Zealand economy, which is encapsulated by the -11% fall in exports over the past year and the 33% increase in home sales. The note provides a stark
By Leith van Onselen In April last year, outgoing Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) governor, Alan Bollard, muted introducing ‘maco-prudential’ tools to prevent the formation of future asset price bubbles: “[New Zealand needs] to keep preparing for how we might deal with credit and asset price booms when they recur in the future,” Bollard
Following on from the recent release of ABS Data on the “Australian Bogan Exodus“, here’s an article from NZ’s leading financial news and opinion blog, interest.co.nz that got me thinking: The exodus of people from New Zealand to live permanently or long-term in Australia continued in February, with net departures across the ditch hitting a new
The New Zealand Productivity Commission (PC) on Friday released its draft report on housing affordability. Below is a video discussing the PC’s draft findings (via Interest.co.nz). The PC report correctly identifies regulatory constraints on land/housing supply as the key impediment to affordable housing. Below are some key extracts from the report discussing the supply-side of the New Zealand housing
Here’s one of the dumbest proposals that I have read in a while. The Auckland Council has released a Draft Plan proposing to change the existing urban growth boundary (called the “Metropolitan Urban Limit” or MUL) into an even tighter “Rural Urban Boundary” that would effectively ban development outside of the rural-urban line and limit
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) last week lodged a fascinating submission with the New Zealand Productivity Commission’s Housing Affordability Inquiry which, given the strong similarities between the Australian and New Zealand housing markets (explained in these earlier articles), is highly relevant to Australia. The RBNZ submission is provided below. At only 10 pages
When it comes to recent banking/housing policy, our Kiwi cousins across the pond have it all over us Aussies. Back in April, I wrote about three policy actions being undertaken by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and the New Zealand Government aimed at reducing the economy’s exposure to the housing market and improving financial
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) today released its biannual Financial Stability Report (FSR). For years, I have been a keen reader of the FSR as it provides an alternate view to the biannual Financial Stability Review released by the Reserve Bank of Australia in March and September. I also follow events closely in
Earlier this month, I wrote about two policy actions being undertaken by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and the New Zealand Government aimed indirectly at reducing the economy’s exposure to the housing market. These measures included: the Open Bank Resolution (OBR) Policy, which seeks to protect taxpayers from funding future bank bailouts; and
New Zealand has undertaken two policy actions lately aimed indirectly at reducing the economy’s exposure to the housing market. The first measure, called the Open Bank Resolution (OBR) Policy, has been initiated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and seeks to protect taxpayers from funding future bank bailouts. The OBR is intended to
