Mortgage Interest Rate: Flexible data was reported at 7.000 % pa in 26 Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 7.000 % pa for 25 Mar 2025. Mortgage Interest Rate: Flexible data is updated daily, averaging 8.750 % pa from Feb 2023 (Median) to 26 Mar 2025, with 784 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.750 % pa in 31 Jul 2024 and a record low of 7.000 % pa in 26 Mar 2025. Mortgage Interest Rate: Flexible data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by ANZ Bank New Zealand. The data is categorized under High Frequency Database’s Lending Rates – Table NZ.DL001: Mortgage Interest Rate.

As of December 2024, the average interest rate for a new standard 1-year residential mortgage in New Zealand was 6.3 percent. In comparison, the average 5-year interest rate for a residential mortgage was 6.15 percent. Average interest rates for new standard residential mortgages in the country started to trend upward from mid-2021. Rates peaked toward the end of 2023 and have begun trending downward.

The Painting and Decorating Services industry derives most of its revenue from applying paint products to interiors and exteriors of dwellings and non-residential buildings for decoration and protection. Specialist contractors also use industrial coatings for infrastructure and industrial equipment provides niche services like wallpaper hanging and signwriting. The deteriorating trends in residential building construction and household spending have severely dampened the industry’s performance in recent years. Still, the industry has operated at historically high levels for much of the past five years. Industry revenue is expected to climb at an annualised 3.1% to $1.73 billion in 2023-24, despite the sharp decline of 6.3% in the current year as the hike in mortgage interest rates chokes off investment and painting activity in the residential building markets. The magnitude of the recent slump in the housing markets has stimulated intense price competition and driven down industry profitability. In addition, contractors have faced escalating input prices from the supply chain disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the impetus for industry expansion has come from the accelerated growth in the non-residential building market, which is a vital source of work for the larger painting contractors. The internal painting of non-residential buildings has climbed from a dip in 2020-21, expanding solidly as the economy recovered with the removal of pandemic restrictions. Several specialist industrial painting contractors generated solid growth from applying industrial coating on new and existing infrastructure projects. Many of the industry’s small-scale painting and decorating contractors will continue encountering difficult trading conditions and fierce competition in the new housing construction market through 2028-29, reflecting the persistently high mortgage interest rates and subdued dwelling consents. The negligible growth in household discretionary income will also discourage spending by homeowners on repair and renovation work and may stimulate substitution by DIY homeowners. Favourable, albeit subdued, trends in the non-residential building and infrastructure markets will continue to generate opportunities for some of the larger or specialist painting companies. Industry revenue will contract at an annualised 0.5% over the five years through 2028-29 to total $1.69 billion.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.