Landlords benefit as first-home buyers retreat
Real estate agents and mortgage brokers say interest from first-home buyers has dropped dramatically since the mortgage rules changed at the beginning of the month.
The latest BNZ/REINZ survey of real estate agents reported a large drop in the number of first-home buyers in the market – the first time a negative result has been recorded in the series. But the agents reported they had not seen investors drop off in the same way. There was no expectation that there would be a negative impact on prices, although there has been a sharp decline in perception of auction clearance rates.
First-home buyers typically cannot now bid at auction because preapprovals are scarce.
BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said first-home buyers might not be out of the market indefinitely - they and the banks would adjust to the rules and activity would resume.
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