FACTORS DRIVING HOUSE PRICES
* REINZ House Sales – Down: Sales in February were down 20.2%on the same time a year ago.
* Interest Rates –Down: Interest rates are increasing especially for longer fixed terms.
* OCR – Down: It’s been suggested the Reserve Bank may slow the rate of those increases because of the effectiveness of the LVR restriction and the strength of the Kiwi dollar.
* Immigration – Up: Migration is reducing as fewer Kiwis leave for Australia and more immigrants move to NZ..
* Building Consents – Neutral: Building activity continues to increase but still not at 2013 levels and has a lot of lost ground to make up.
*Mortgage Approvals: Down: Seasonally adjusted approvals and banks new commitments dropped 22 & 17 points respectively between 9/13 & 3/14
* Rents – Up: Rents are rising as investors pass on higher interest costs to their tenants.
Filed under: REAL ESTATE