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Reserve Bank of New Zealand to ease LVR restrictions

RBNZ intends to ease mortgage loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions from 1 December 2025

  • For owner occupiers, the limit on the share of new lending allowed with an LVR above 80% will increase to 25%
  • Also reviewed our DTI restrictions and decided to keep settings unchanged

DTI is Debt-to-income

  • Housing market: The move should support first-home buyers and lift housing demand modestly.

  • Banking sector: Slightly greater flexibility for lenders, but the RBNZ’s retention of DTI limits signals a cautious approach to household leverage.

  • Policy outlook: The easing underscores the RBNZ’s confidence in financial stability and may complement expectations for gradual monetary easing in 2026 if inflation continues to moderate.

NZD/USD is down a few tics on the announcement.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

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