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Interest rate rise may need to be sharp: NZIER

Wednesday 27th of November 2013

Auckland’s house prices are now up 15% on 2007. Canterbury’s are up 7% while values in the rest of the country are still 25% below their 2007 peak.

Mortgage approvals soared between 2011 and this year but had dropped 17% in value since September, NZIER said.  It the risk to the economy of a potential fall in house prices was high.

“The RBNZ is loath to raise interest rates to control the Auckland housing market, because inflation is still low and the recovery is still in its early stages.”

Rents have not kept pace with house prices rises and NZIER economist Shamubeel Eaqub said that indicated that the problem was a shortage of houses to buy, not houses to live in.

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