Housing Market

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29 November 2023

What is the Official Cash Rate, exactly?

Put really simply, the Official Cash Rate is the interest rate that the banks earn on any money they’re holding with the Reserve Bank, and the rate they pay if they need to borrow funds.

21 November 2023

Market update: After months of turbulence, a sense of stability returns (for now)

It feels pretty clear we're at the top of the current interest rate cycle. But with one more Official Cash Rate announcement to come for the year, what are the expectations for interest rates come 2024?

21 November 2023

Why are floating mortgage interest rates so high?

While floating rates are the norm in Australia, less than 10% of all Kiwi mortgages are on floating rates. The reality for Kiwi is that floating rates are consistently so much more expensive than fixed rates. So what's causing this, and should they be so high?

14 November 2023

Rodney's Ravings: Why it's too early to get excited about rising house prices

If all the latest headlines are to be believed, we're in for a big comeback in house prices over the next 12 months or so. But when it comes to the question of "to buy or not to buy?", Squirrel guest blogger Rodney Dickens reckons the numbers don't quite stack up in favour of a house price surge just yet.

09 November 2023

Is time working against first home buyers?

With good job security and sizeable deposits, first home buyers have jumped boots and all into the housing market since early this year. But with extra buyers set to appear in the near future, is time working against first home buyers?

31 October 2023

A Squirrel case study: Forging a new model for affordable housing in New Zealand

In this case study, we sat down with residential housing developer David Duggan to chat about his journey bringing an innovative new leasehold development to life on the shores of Lake Taupō, and how partnering with Squirrel made it happen.

25 October 2023

Market update: Out with the red, in with the blue – but election result carries no silver bullet

For many Kiwi voters, National's win in the recent election probably didn’t come as too much of a surprise — and you can bet that National’s focus, especially over the next 12 months, will be on driving through policies that are designed to bolster the New Zealand economy. So what will this all mean for homeowners and borrowers?

25 October 2023

The bank profit bonanza during our cost-of-living crisis

Despite the Reserve Bank holding off on increasing the Official Cash Rate, ANZ has just announced it’s lifting its home loan interest rates across the board by between 0.10% and 0.26%. So why have they increased their rates, and is the move justified?

24 October 2023

National is back in the game — but are property investors?

With National back in government, we can anticipate the return of interest expense deductibility and no-fault tenancy terminations. But will this also bring a surge of property investors with them, and if so, what will this mean for first home buyers?

16 October 2023

Rodney’s Ravings: Why the world is in for a prolonged inflation battle

Central banks the world over have a bit of a bad habit of reactionary decision making. After overstimulating the economy big time when the pandemic hit by dropping rates to record lows, they were much too slow to jack rates up again when inflation started running rampant. And it's created such a big mess that Squirrel guest blogger, Rodney Dickens, reckons we're in for an extended battle to get us out of it again.

11 October 2023

7 signs house prices are riding the upward wave

The recent migration boom and rising construction costs have contributed to the growth in house prices — but what are the other factors causing them to rise, and how long will prices continue to increase?

04 October 2023

Official cash rate holds steady at 5.50%

It came as no surprise to anyone in the world of economics and financial markets this week when the Reserve Bank left its official cash rate unchanged at 5.5%.