Interest rate relief “less far off”

But they make clear that significant pain relief is still around 18 months away.

The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) last week pushed up the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by an unprecedented 75 points, and contemplated a 100 point rise before finally ruling it out.

The rise is expected to be followed by more next year and the RBNZ itself expects the OCR to peak at 5.5%.

This is likely to push fixed interest rates above 7%, according to the property analyst, CoreLogic. Floating rates are expected to be higher again, though it is not clear how big that margin will be.