NZ: Housing market stable - ANZ

Sharon Zollner, Chief Economist at ANZ, points out that REINZ data of NZ economy for April continue to point to a broadly stable housing market as sales rose 0.2% in April (seasonally adjusted), failing to bounce back from a 3.8% fall the previous month. Nationwide housing market activity is broadly stable, at 0.6% y/y (3-month m.a.), she further adds.

Key Quotes

“National house prices are stable. Our preferred measure of house prices – the REINZ House Price Index (HPI) – fell 0.1% m/m in April (sa) and is up 3.9% y/y (3-month m.a.), unchanged from March.”

“We expect house price inflation will continue to moderate at the national level. The market is unlikely to take off due to affordability constraints, credit headwinds and new Government policies. Regional divergence is likely to continue, unwinding some of the Auckland outperformance seen over much of the cycle.”