Blog

OCR Rises By 50 Basis Points

Blog
In a further attempt to keep inflation down, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has announced a new hike to the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 50 basis points. This brings the OCR to 4.75%, with some economists predicting that it will peak at 5%. This is the highest…

New Zealand Property Market Faces Decline

Blog
Figures from Quotable Value (QV) show that the average price of a New Zealand home has fallen by an estimated $10,000 a month. The QV House Price Index indicates that property values fell by $10,006 between December last year to January 2023. Prices also fell by $129,004 from January 2022…

Kiwis Raise Concern Over Rising Food Prices

Blog
Stats NZ has released figures indicating that the annual inflation rate has remained high at 7.2%. This is the highest level in 32 years, with key drivers being food prices, rent and maintenance, and building costs. For the consumer having to spend more on foodstuffs, the rising food prices have…

Growing Concern Over Rising Financial Services Complaints

Blog
As economic pressures grow on consumers, there has been an increase in the number of financial services complaints. Financial Ombudsman, Susan Taylor, reported that there was a 17.5% surge in complaints lodged in the six months leading to December 2022. She noted that issues like higher interest rates and the…

Housing Market Slump Expected To Persist

Blog
The last quarter of 2022 saw a sustained decline in the country’s property market. The House Price Index (HPI) fell by 1.3% in October, 0.6% in November, and 0.2% in December. Despite the slowdown, analysts predict that there will be an ongoing weakness in the market in 2023. Issues such…

Economy Records Strong Growth

Blog
Despite experts predicting growth of just 0.9% for the quarter, the economy has surpassed expectations by growing 2% for the September quarter. Stats NZ reported that much of this has can be attributed to a surge in the service activity and growth in exports following the re-opening of the NZ…

Demand for Consumer Loans on The Rise

Blog
With inflation and interest rates on the rise, it comes as no surprise that more people are struggling to manage tighter household budgets. According to a new Credit Indicator report released by credit bureau Centrix, consumer arrears rose by 5% in October as compared to a year before. There was…

Reserve Bank Warns That A Recession Is Coming

Blog
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced that it had raised the official cash rate (OCR) by 75 basis points to 4.25%. This is the biggest hike it has carried out since the global financial crisis of 2008 and considerably higher than the market had anticipated. The RBNZ is…

Commerce Commission Urges Comparison Shopping

Blog
The Commerce Commission is advising motorists to take more time to shop around for the lowest prices on fuel in their local areas. Commissioner John Small said that this would help drive healthy competition with time and was a key factor in exerting downward pressure on pricing at the pump.…

Airbnb Appeals Against GST Proposal

Blog
Airbnb is opposing a move by the government to levy goods and services tax (GST) on its accommodation bookings as of April 2024. The company is basing its opposition on suggestions that such a change would stifle the country’s economy and cause it to lose as much as $500 million…