RBNZ price fall prediction countered

Even though the country is in lockdown as the Government tries to eliminate the delta variant of Covid, ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner says at this early juncture the bank’s economists don’t think it is a game changer for underlying economic momentum or the broader housing cycle.

What she does expect is lockdown measures will likely see listings and sales fall sharply. But they should bounce back, keeping the degree of tightness in the market – and therefore house price pressures – relatively stable.

Zollner says even a 10% drop in house prices from July levels would only erase five to six months of recent house price gains.

“That doesn’t seem unmanageable in the grand scheme of things.”