House price surge not a bubble, LVRs not justified, bankers lobby says

House price surge not a bubble, LVRs not justified, bankers lobby says
By Pattrick Smellie July 18 (BusinessDesk) – Surging prices for Auckland and Christchurch real estate do not constitute a housing market bubble because bank lending volumes have been plummeting for the last two months, says the executive director of the New Zealand Bankers Association, Kirk Hope. Political debate has raged this week over the impact on first home buyers if the Reserve Bank of New Zealand imposes restrictions on high loan-to-value ratio lending next month, as is widely tipped. Hope told BusinessDesk the conditions justifying a...