Business and housing confidence with OCR at 2.5%

Written By Kim Manunui

Since the start of this year we’ve said that 2025 will be all about easing while everything settles down, setting us up for a recovery starting late 2025, through 26 and into 27. With 3.0% OCR considered ‘neutral’ rate of neither restrictive nor stimulative, we were always going to get to 2.5% by the end of the year and with one more announcement to go in Nov we’re expecting another 0.25% cut to rest at 2.25% taking us right into stimulative territory through to the next announcement in Feb, just what the doctor ordered.

The key driver in any recover is business growth and GDP which creates employment and housing follows, with less spent on the cost of money for housing and business, this enables more discretionary spending on personal and business items, along with investment, creating the economic stimulus needed to grow the economy.

A few key notes from our Minister of Finance citing five reasons to feel positive about the NZ economy –

  1. The echoes of many bank economists and forecasters stating the OCR falling into stimulative territory is a gamechanger.

  2. Job ad numbers have increased through July and August for the first time in more than three years.

  3. Commodity prices are strong particularly in dairy, meat and horticulture with signs of spending and investing coming through into 2026, and wool’s on its way back

  4. Spending is up a bit with core retail electronic card sales up 1.7% over the past 3 months with month on month increases

  5. Every cycle eventually turns. While it’s been bad with some businesses closing, others are succeeding and the overall number of business’s is higher than its ever been, broader economic conditions are in place for a recovery with no underlying global crisis to interfere with New Zealand’s return to economic health.

Along with a new local Mayor and Councillors, we’re in for a change of gear in the new year.

For more on the above, click on the link below.

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Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project.  Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

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If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
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