Why all the 'mortgage bomb' talk is reckless hyperbole

TL;DR: Talk from the Opposition about a ‘mortgage bomb’ hitting the housing market and economy is actually reckless hyperbole that is out of line with what home owners and their banks are actually doing.

An online opt-in survey of home owners out yesterday suggested tens of thousands of home owners are about to be forced to sell, but the reality is so vastly different that the poll can’t be taken seriously. Also, some politicians are pointing to a Centrix report this week showing nearly $5 billion worth of mortgages are overdue. That’s also way out of line with the official figures and what’s happening in real life.

Elsewhere in our political economy, here and overseas

• PM Chris Hipkins looks set to announce this afternoon that New Zealand will sign an expanded partnership agreement with NATO next week when he attends its summit in Vilnius.

• The Kapiti Coast District Council has delayed its plans for carbon neutrality for 15 years until 2040, saying it preferred instead not to increase rates as much as required to achieve a target set in 2019 when it declared a ‘climate emergency.’

• The Labour and Green MPs in the majority on a Parliamentary Committee have recommended scoping studies be done for passenger rail services from Auckland to Wellington, Auckland to Tauranga and Wellington to Napier, along with an extension of the Wellington to Palmerston North line to Feilding, but the National and ACT MPs in the minority are opposed to new rail services, even though National’s election slogan is ‘Get NZ back on track.’¹

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