Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The Reserve Bank is expected to keep tight bank home lending restrictions in place this year.
CoreLogic NZ chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said there were risks associated with an easing in restrictions, which would likely work against the RBNZ's efforts to cool the economy and drive down inflation.
Continued high mortgage rates into 2024 would probably restrain housing activity and prices regardless of what happened to the central bank's credit policy, Davidson said.
The loan to value ratio (LVR) rules were put in place some years ago in order to cap how much banks can lend relative to the purchase price of a residential property.
The LVRs were temporarily removed in 2020 to stimulate economic activity, but reinstated in 2021 after strong housing demand resulted in big increases in prices.