Property

Surprise as house prices hit record

A fresh surge in house prices took economists by surprise yesterday and raised fears of another round of mortgage interest rate rises.

Wednesday, April 20th 2005

Westpac chief economist Brendan O'Donovan said the housing market was giving mixed signals but appeared to have rebounded strongly.

"The question is, how long will this last," he said of the $280,000 record-breaking national house price median for March released by the Real Estate Institute.

"The jury is out on whether this rebound is just temporary or a real second wind, because if price rises continue, it puts more pressure on the Reserve Bank to push up interest rates."

He picked a revision of economic forecasts and a rethink on interest rates, which are expected to stabilise.

Economists expect the Reserve Bank to leave interest rates on hold when it next reviews them on April 28.

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Heartland Bank - Online 6.69
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.74
Wairarapa Building Society 6.95
Unity 6.99
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 7.04
ICBC 7.05
China Construction Bank 7.09
BNZ - Classic 7.24
ASB Bank 7.24
ANZ Special 7.24
TSB Special 7.24
Unity First Home Buyer special 6.45
Heartland Bank - Online 6.45
China Construction Bank 6.75
TSB Special 6.75
ICBC 6.75
ANZ Special 6.79
ASB Bank 6.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.79
Kiwibank Special 6.79
BNZ - Classic 6.79
Unity 6.79
Westpac Special 6.39
China Construction Bank 6.40
ICBC 6.49
SBS Bank Special 6.55
Kiwibank Special 6.55
BNZ - Classic 6.55
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.55
ASB Bank 6.55
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.55
TSB Special 6.59
Kainga Ora 6.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19
AIA - Back My Build 6.19
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39
Credit Union Auckland 7.70
ICBC 7.85
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99
Pepper Money Essential 8.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40
First Credit Union Standard 8.50
Kiwibank 8.50

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