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Prices up, growth slows
New Zealand property prices rose last month but a supply shortage in some regions is starting to takes it toll on overall sales volumes.
New Zealand property prices rose last month but a supply shortage in some regions is starting to takes it toll on overall sales volumes.
Kiwibank has today launched a six-month fixed home loan rate of 4.79 per cent, the bank's lowest rate in its 11-year history.
House prices and overall sales numbers eased last month but the property market remains much stronger than a year ago, according to figures out this morning.
New Zealand house values continue to soar but the booming market is no longer being propped up by property powerhouses Auckland and Christchurch.
Three weeks since ASB kicked off competition among banks for the year, Westpac has this morning announced cuts to three of its fixed mortgage rates.
ASB Bank has today announced reductions to its three, four and five-year fixed home loan rates.
Mortgage approvals reached their highest levels in almost four years last month, as people rushed to make the most of low interest rates.
New Zealand shares rose yesterday as another consumer confidence survey showed improving sentiment, especially in Auckland, even as Australian jobs data disappointed financial markets.
House prices struck a new median price record of $389,000 last December, up 9.6 per cent on the same month in 2011, the Real Estate Institute of NZ says.
Low floating mortgage interest rates look set to lift in the second half of next year, economists say.
Christmas shoppers are being tempted with offers of "interest-free" cash loans before an interest rate in excess of 500 per cent kicks in.
Bill English has defended banks against accusations from one of his own MPs that they are "gouging" customers with high overdraft rates, especially for farmers.
A rise in household incomes that is greater than the average house price rise makes recent real estate market buoyancy unsurprising, says Bill English.
The median house price in New Zealand rose to a record $380,000 last month as sales jumped by almost a third compared to October 2011, according to new figures.
Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler has warned excessive credit growth may trip up New Zealand's economic rebalancing and has singled out agricultural debt as being uncomfortably high.