By Jonno IngersonThe new year is now well under way and it's time to have a look at whether the lending restrictions put in place late last year have had an impact on the property market. The significant drop in demand in Auckland is the first suggestion that the new lending restrictions are having a real impact on slowing down buyers. This is another sign that lending restrictions have also had an impact on values. The tightening of lending rules across the country for owner occupiers had the potential to prevent first-home buyers from getting into the market, but that doesn't seem the case. In the coming few weeks we can expect market activity to pick up seasonally and we will get a better sense of how weak or strong that activity is.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 03, 2017 00:16 UTC