RBNZ to Rein in Housing Boom With Investor Lending Limits
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New Zealand dollar falls as move paves way for August rate cut
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Investors will need deposit of at least 40% for a home loan
New Zealand’s central bank is moving to quell the country’s housing boom by restricting the amount of money property investors can borrow, paving the way for another cut in interest rates.
The Reserve Bank will require investors across New Zealand to have a deposit of at least 40 percent, it said in a statement Tuesday in Wellington. The new rule, which tightens an existing requirement that investors in Auckland have at least a 30 percent deposit, will be introduced Sept. 1, the RBNZ said.
New Zealand’s dollar fell as markets bet Governor Graeme Wheeler will now be free to respond to persistently weak inflation by cutting the official cash rate to a record-low 2 percent on Aug. 11. He has been reticent to lower borrowing costs for fear of stoking housing demand…