It was significantly up on the $584 million lent to low deposit borrowers in March last year and $510 lent by banks in March 2023.

“The Government halving its KiwiSaver contribution to $260 a year is not going to make or break deposits for first home or other house buyers.

The Budget Is unlikely to have much bearing on next week’s RBNZ OCR review and Monetary Policy Statement.

Businesses across the country expecting to thrive in 2025 are still in a big hole, down in the dumps and it is showing in a big new survey by the RBNZ.

Some big swings in sentiment and markets in just a couple of months has led to expectations the RBNZ will drop the OCR at its meeting next week and signal another one or two to come.

Mortgage advisers say they have been slapped in the face by Westpac powering fintech Dosh to offer home loans without any financial advice and giving a loyalty cashback reward of up to 0.20% over the term of a mortgage.

One year mortgage interest rates could be as low as 4.5% by September or October this year if the OCR falls to 2.75% in August as predicted by Squirrel Mortgages.

Drawing up a house deposit loan agreement from the bank of mum and dad has become easier with a New Zealand developed app launched only a few months ago.

Lower home values and easing interest rates are creating a rare opportunity for first home buyers to buy in Auckland and Wellington, where they been locked out for years, Quotable Value says.

Although about $2.2 billion will flow back into mortgage holders’ pockets over the next six to 12 months from falling interest rates a big chunk of it will go on paying bills.

Mortgage borrowers nearly 18-month love affair with floating and short-term fixed rates appears to be all but over.

ASB is on a hiring drive to recruit 80 additional home ownership specialists as it prepares for a surge in home loan applications.

Misuse of market power is being levelled at the big four Australian-owned banks by lobby group Banking Reform Coalition. It wants the Commerce Commission to prosecute.

While the country’s mortgage stock rose by $1.9 billion in March, the number of problem mortgages also rose by $61 million to $2.4 billion and withdrawals from KiwiSaver on hardship grounds reached a record monthly high.

ANZ economists say the bulk of mortgage interest rates falls has likely ended, barring any major surprises.

Borrowers signed up for $8.5 billion in new mortgages last month – up 45.2% from $5.8 billion in February and up 40.7% from $6.035 billion March last year, the latest Reserve Bank data show.