Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has signalled he might push back the start of increases in the official cash rate if the New Zealand dollar stays high.

It may be six months or so before the Reserve Bank begins to raise the official cash rate, but monetary tightening is already under way, writes Brian Fallow.

Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has explained his decision to impose curbs on mortgage lending at low deposits.

The Reserve Bank has rejected claims that its curbs on low-deposit mortgage lending will have the perverse effect of reducing the amount of new housing.

Businesses are the most cheerful they have been since 1999, a good sign for growth and employment but a potential harbinger of higher inflation and interest rates.

The struggle to enter the property market for the first time has been a hot topic, from property availability to lending criteria.

The Reserve Bank has put borrowers on notice, pencilling in a full percentage point of interest rate rises next year and as much again in 2016.

The widespread assumption that most first home buyers will be shut out of the housing market by the Reserve Bank's curbs on low-deposit home loans may be too swift.

Now that we know what the Reserve Bank is doing by way of curbs on low-deposit mortgage lending the question is whether it will work, writes Brian Fallow.

The curbs on low-deposit home lending announced by the Reserve Bank yesterday are likely to prove more restrictive than it thinks, the Bankers Association warns.

Christchurch and Auckland property prices still increasing as regions slow over winter, figures show.