Tweaking CCCFA changes won’t rescue housing market from price falls

“Omicron is pushing up domestic generated inflation in an already capacity constrained economy. Meanwhile the war in Ukraine has seen commodity prices, such as oil, surge.

“The RBNZ’s fight to rein in inflation is likely to see mortgage rates rise further and they are already being adjusted upwards to this new reality,” says Couchman.

The CCCFA’s proposed changes include removing regular 'savings' and 'investments' from would-be borrowers' expenses that were measured against their intended loan.

They also reduce the need for lenders to comb through bank statements of all borrowers – an apparent reference to the notorious cups of latte and Christmas shopping that were added to a borrower's outgoings.