Real estate man pleased as Bollard puts rate on hold

Those with existing mortgages or people buying property could see some stability coming into the interest rate market and could calculate accurately their mortgage commitments, he said.

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard left interest rates on hold today following the bank's six-weekly review of the Official Cash Rate.

The move would give people confidence to continue to buy real estate, Mr Norrish said.

"We're seeing a much more stable real estate market both locally and nationally. The Marlborough market continues to have a reasonable degree of buoyancy, but we're heading into a quiet time of year," he said.

Since the start of last year, the bank has lifted interest rates seven times and Dr Bollard left the door open for further rate rises today while shutting it to cuts in the near future.

The rate remains at 6.75 percent, and the prospect of rate rises rather than cuts is against growing evidence of a likely economic slowdown in the second half of this year.

Yesterday, the National Bank's monthly survey of business confidence showed a sharp downturn in confidence with more than half of businesses expecting conditions to deteriorate in the next six months.

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