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Word on the street is that house prices have finally hit "sustainable" levels, after 18 months of significant falls. But are they really "about right"? Chief Squirrel, David Cunningham, digs into the data to tell us whether house prices really are where they need to be.

With a falling number of listings, booming immigration and an end to rising mortgage interest rates, is FOMO starting to creep back into the New Zealand housing market?

The Reserve Bank have said that 5.50% is still as high as they think they will need to take the cash rate. So does that mean the housing market now suddenly picks up strongly straight away? Or will it sit flat for perhaps three years as a lot of people optimistically believe?

Buyers have been waiting for two years now for prices to look more reasonable. With a record turnaround in net migration inflows to New Zealand, falling house prices, and high job security, is the market getting set for a better Spring?

We’re only 0.25% off the Reserve Bank’s (RBNZ’s) forecasted peak OCR – so will Kiwis be hit by other OCR hike, or have interest rates in New Zealand already peaked for this economic cycle?

Here in Aotearoa, we have one of the highest rates of asthma, and death by asthma, of anywhere in the world - and it’s probably got something to do with the quality of our housing. Luckily, our four biggest banks have fantastic loan options on offer, that are designed specifically to help Kiwi homeowners fund improvements to their home (or rental property) to make it a healthier space, that’s better for the environment.

From June 1, the Reserve Bank will be easing up on lending rules. But will that, coupled with dropping house prices, be enough to turn buyers' fears of over-paying into a fear of missing out?

Investors largely remain concerned about interest rate levels and access to bank finance. So when will they return to the housing market, and what will be the catalyst?

I recall mentioning last year there was a good chance that the housing market would bottom out around the end of 2022 then stage a small recovery over 2023 with prices maybe rising by 5%. But then the inflation numbers came in.

Every now and then it is a good idea to sit back and remind ourselves of the big picture and how we got to where we are at the moment. For the NZ housing market, the story is this.

We all underestimated the extent to which prices would rise when the pandemic struck in early-2020. Now, almost everyone has underestimated the extent to which prices, and sales, are heading down now that the pandemic is over and the inflation resulting from excess stimulus needs to be brought under control.

Stories of builder collapses alongside high financing costs have made people step back from signing up for a new property. Presales for developers have shrunk and many projects are now being put on hold.