TLDR & TLDL: Despite all the talk of a credit crunch and the effects of more listings and higher mortgages, the housing market just will not lie down, in part because most home owners don’t believe prices will ever be allowed to fall much. Any pause is seen as a buying opportunity before the next leg up, rather than any turning point before a substantial fall.
CoreLogic reported this morning that house value inflation actually accelerated in the month of January to 2.1% from 1.9% in December, which meant annual inflation stayed up at 27.5%. Average house values rose to $1.028m nationally, and are now up over $1m in the likes of Porirua and Tauranga. Average values are approaching $1m in Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Napier and Hastings.
I spoke to CoreLogic’s Head of Research Nick Goodall earlier about the latest house price inflation surprise. (That interview is in the podcast above for paid subscribers, who can also see everything below the paywall fold in our Dawn Choruses.)
Elsewhere in the news this morning:
migrant teachers with special visas to start the school year are stuck overseas because the visas don’t come with MIQ slots attached, and just 8 of the 300 granted visas have gotten through. (Stuff, NZ Herald)
PM Jacinda Ardern will give a speech tomorrow detailing plans to reopen the border (1News)
St John Ambulance reports mental health callouts for children have risen 77% since Covid (1News)
wholesale dairy prices rose another 4.1% overnight to a fresh six-year high, bolstering forecasts of a record payout this season towards $9.50/kg (globaldairytrade)
Later today, I’ll be covering the release of a proposed social insurance scheme (here’s my previous backgrounder on that) and will look at jobs and wages figures for the December quarter. They are expected to show more wage growth and 3% unemployment. Watch out too for Jacinda Ardern’s borders speech tomorrow.
(I’m able to do this sort of accountability and explanatory journalism on housing, poverty and climate because over 1,300 people have become paid subscribers to The Kākā. I’d love you to join as a full subscriber, which enables you to comment below and gives you access to all my daily emails, and access to my weekly webinars and chat threads. Come and join us and see what’s below the paywall fold.)
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