The value of home loan approvals hit a record this month, suggesting Kiwi borrowers could be failing to heed the Reserve Bank's warnings around rising levels of household debt.
Lending worth $1.56 billion was approved in the seven days to December 11, the most in one week since the central bank's records began in 2003.
Meanwhile, the number of loans approved, at 7181, didn't top the highs seen in previous years, which points to borrowers taking out larger loans.
For example, close to 11,000 loans were approved in the week to April 3, 2009, but they were valued at only $1.3 billion.
The average value of loans approved in the week to December 11 was $216,682.