“As the year went on, cuts to the official cash rate and signs of stabilisation helped lift confidence, even while some data remained patchy.
“Cotality’s home value index shows national values were flat in November after two months of modest gains, with the national median sitting around $807,000. Sales, listings, and building activity have all picked up, while first-home buyers have become “a much bigger part of the market story”.
Economy, inflation, and interest rates
The economic backdrop remained challenging for much of the year. Unemployment drifted higher to 5.3% and household budgets stayed tight, but easing inflation and aggressive interest rate cuts shifted conditions into more supportive territory.
“The RBNZ moved decisively into easing mode this year,” Tiller said.
“We’ve seen a full two percentage point reduction to the OCR in 2025 alone, taking it down to 2.25%. Markets and forecasters agree the low point is now close – the question is how long rates stay low.”