New Zealand's "resilient housing market" largely rules out OCR cuts, and "while OCR hikes are not yet in prospect the RBNZ will remain watchful," says ANZ Bank in a note following the release of the latest housing data. The national median home price reached NZ$383,250 in November versus NZ$383,000 in October, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. The number of homes sold totaled 7,454 in November, up 12.3% compared with October. "In the December MPS the RBNZ warned that they 'could' raise the OCR if the strengthening property market flowed through into household spending and borrowing," says ANZ Bank. While to date there is not much evidence of this occurring, the central bank will be keeping a close eye on the sector. It noted, however, the RBNZ is more likely to use prudential policy tools before moving the OCR so as to minimize damage to the tradable sector. "The OCR is going nowhere for a long time," it says.
Find us on Google+
No comments:
Post a Comment