Housing Confidence: Lower interest rates boost buying favourability
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s dovish tilt since August influenced house price expectations and interest rate expectations in ASB’s latest housing confidence survey (August – October)
- As the RBNZ communicated a more aggressive easing cycle, respondents correctly anticipated further declines in home loan rates
- However, we believe the RBNZ is likely at, or very close to, the end of its easing cycle – we are interested to see how interest rate expectations evolve over the coming months and if that leads to change in re-fixing behaviour from mortgage holders
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Nick Tuffley
ASB Chief Economist
Since starting out in 1997 as an economist, it's fair to say Nick has seen a few hair-raising moments over the years, including the Asian Financial Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis.
One of Nick's strengths is his ability to communicate complex ideas in a readily understandable and entertaining way. He thrives on helping people understand the economic environment to help enrich the quality of their business or personal life. He’s proud to lead a team that has won two Forecast Accuracy Awards from Consensus Economics, and has a strong track record with their Official Cash Rate and dairy price forecasts.
Nick grew up in Christchurch and graduated with a Master of Commerce degree from the University of Canterbury. He learned his economic ropes at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand before a long stint as a Senior Economist at Westpac, and joined ASB as Chief Economist in 2007.
- Email: Nick