Photo: RNZThe Reserve Bank's restrictions on home loans kick in from today - but those in the industry don't believe it will do much to cool the market in New Zealand. Loan-to-value ratios (LVR) were temporarily lifted in the wake of Covid-19, but a runaway housing market has forced the central bank to reintroduce them. Since the Reserve Bank began talking about re-instating lending restrictions, banks have already been voluntarily imposing them. Last week, Finance Minister Grant Robertson decreed the Reserve Bank will now have to take house prices into account when making its decisions. The Government is set to announce further measures to cool the housing market in mid-March.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 28, 2021 19:07 UTC