Interest rates have been tracking steadily downwards over the last year or so.
While the shift has been positive, bringing some relief to Kiwi households pushed to their limit by high mortgage costs, it's taking longer than expected for the benefit to flow through to the economy. The hurt of the last few years has knocked consumer confidence in a big way, and people aren't yet super comfortable going out and spending again.
Which is why—in an effort to get us back on track—the Reserve Bank has officially tipped us into a stimulatory rate environment, with the OCR now sitting comfortably below its estimated 'neutral' point of 3.00%.
But a word of caution to borrowers: it won't last forever.
Timings are very much TBC at this stage, but once the RBNZ is confident the economy is back on track, the OCR is expected return to around that 3.00% mark, with the one-year rate expected to settle close to 5.00%.
With that said, here are the key OCR dates to watch for in 2026:
- 18th February 2026 - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
- 8th April 2026 - Monetary Policy Review & OCR
- 27th May 2026 - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
- 8th July 2026 - Monetary Policy Review & OCR
- 2nd September 2026 - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
- 28th October 2026 - Monetary Policy Review & OCR
- 9th December 2026 - Monetary Policy Statement & OCR
Whatever the next few months might bring, you can always catch our latest analysis on the situation over on the Squirrel blog, helping to make sense of what the RBNZ announcements mean for Kiwi homeowners and our housing market.
Need help making sense of interest rates?
We have a team of mortgage and property experts ready to help. Give us a call on 0800 21 22 30 or flick us a message here.
*There are two types of OCR announcement. Quarterly Monetary Policy Statements (in bold) are more in-depth – and may be where the RBNZ revises its forecasts. Monetary Policy Reviews are more of an interim update, or check-in, between MPS announcements.