Twists and turns in housing market

At most, it has slowed from its previous white-hot pace back to red-hot, says Westpac acting chief economist Michael Gordon.

The REINZ House Price Index rose by just under 2% in seasonally adjusted terms, to be at 26.8% on the same time last year.

That’s a modest slowdown from the 3% plus gains recorded in some recent months, but still unusually strong.

“Government and Reserve Bank measures have a lot of work to do to combat the appeal of record-low mortgage rates.”