Rapidly accelerating house prices have forced the government into action, with substantial changes coming as a result of the recent housing package announcement. Senior Economist Brad Olsen details what’s in the package, what it’ll change in the housing market, and why fixing the housing crisis will take time.
Outside of the housing focus, the Infometrics team have recently been exploring more of the trade space, with Economist Andrew Beattie examining the impacts of import disruptions on international trade to New Zealand, and Brad using the Chart of the Month to scope out where New Zealand’s chocolate is made, where it comes from, and where it goes – all in time for Easter!.
This trade focus sets the stage for our forthcoming report to be launched in Nelson in mid-April, where Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan will highlight some of our analysis to identify new export markets for New Zealand goods.
And finally, we round out with our heartfelt congratulations to Brad for being named 2020 Young Wellingtonian of the year. A very well-deserved win!
The recent government’s announcement on housing has introduced substantial changes into an area of the economy where issues are readily identified, but solutions are less obvious, and notoriously hard to implement. With both supply and demand-side changes now underway, concerns have emerged over just what impact the policies together will have, and if they will fix the housing market.
International trade disruptions have been fraught over the past year. The pandemic has decimated trade in services as people flows around the globe are restricted.
With Easter occurring later this week, there’s an increased interest in all things chocolate. In the March 2021 Chart of the Month, we wanted to dive into the numbers and see where Sunday’s easter egg hunt might have originated from, where we make our local chocolate, and where it might eventually end up (aside from our stomachs).
