Housing market continues to dip, but 'green shoots' emerge

Housing market continues to dip, but 'green shoots' emerge
First home buyers are holding on to market share. (Image: BusinessDesk)
Brent Melville
Perked-up interest from first-home buyers helped slow the downward spiral in real estate sales last month, as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the prospect of easing loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions for lending from June 1.That’s reflected in the first home segment holding on to about a quarter of market share, well above the long-term average of 21-22%, according to CoreLogic data.The property analytics firm noted houses accounted for 75% of first home purchases during the first three months – up from 71% a year ago &nd...

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