News and Insights
Keep up with the property market, interest rates, lending rules and other useful updates for anyone who wants to make smarter property and financial decisions.
OCR held at 3.25%. Is it time to revisit the Reserve Bank’s mandate?
Over the past 12 months, the Reserve Bank has gradually lowered the Official Cash Rate (OCR) from 5.50% to 3.25%. While that’s a solid drop, the pace of cuts has been cautious. With inflation falling and economic pressures mounting, many are asking: Why has the RBNZ been so cautious on rate cuts? Part of the answer may lie in a quiet but significant change made late last year. Here’s the full story.
Test rates are below 7% - why that’s good news for home loan borrowers
The Reserve Bank cut the OCR this week, and while that’s good news for mortgage holders, here’s what we’re really watching: Most banks have already dropped their floating rates. More interestingly – we’ve just seen a bank drop its test rate to 6.75%. That’s a big shift.