REINZ house sales are seen as a good leading indicator for building consents by many economists, so this is one to keep an eye on. January’s House Sales figures reveal the lowest number of monthly sales on record. Those of you that viewed the Housing Loan Approvals, will see that average loan values are down 25+% on a week to week average.

Other news of interest this month is the research on home affordability in NZ as part of the international Demographica study, putting the heat on planning reform.

On a brighter note, respondents to our confidence survey have indicated that they have more work on their books than 3 months ago, and predict that the recovery will arrive quicker than they previously thought.