NZ Property Market Update 10 April 26 | Rates, Economy + OCR

TLDR; by Luminate

This week felt a bit like the market standing beside the runway, headphones on, waiting for instructions. The Reserve Bank held the OCR steady, banks mostly kept their powder dry, and the housing market kept moving at that familiar 2026 pace: active enough to matter, cautious enough to notice. May is starting to look like the real conversation.

The Reserve Bank held the OCR at 2.25%

No surprise in the decision, but the tone sharpened. The Reserve Bank made it clear inflation is expected to rise short term, growth is softer than hoped, and it remains ready to act if inflation expectations start drifting.

👉 Read the full Reserve Bank statement

Inflation is now forecast to hit 4.2% in the June quarter

Well above where anyone would like it sitting, driven largely by fuel prices and offshore uncertainty. Inflation may still be temporary, but right now it is not exactly behaving politely.

👉 Read the Interest.co.nz article

Mortgage rates

Mortgage pricing stayed mostly unchanged this week. No major bank launched fresh home loan specials, but average one-year pricing has already drifted up over the past month, from around 4.49% to 4.59%.

Borrowers are fixing longer again

Recent commentary suggests more borrowers are choosing two and three-year fixed terms, preferring certainty over trying to pick the exact bottom of the cycle.

👉 Read the OneRoof article

That’s the TLDR this week.

All eyes now turn to 27 May, when the Reserve Bank meets again. If April is the quiet warning light on the dashboard, May may tell us whether it was just a flicker or something worth pulling over for.

For now, the market feels calm on the surface, quietly calculating underneath, and waiting to see whether May arrives with flowers… or fireworks.