PHOTO: 123RF – A raft of political changes and the spectre of rising interest rates are likely to chill the housing market, Westpac believes.
Westpac is warning that “a prodigious set of negative factors” are poised to have a chilling effect on the housing market and push prices down slightly later this year.
House prices in March rose 0.4 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, while house sales were down 4.5 per cent, according to figures from the Real Estate Institute REINZ.
The bank’s chief economist, Dominick Stephens, said the property market did appear to be in positive territory at the moment, buoyed by falling mortgage rates and easier mortgage lending restrictions.
“But there may also be an element of buyers rushing in to beat upcoming tax and regulatory changes driving the market.”
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