If Labour finance spokesman David Parker is proposing a job swap with the Reserve Bank Governor he should say so, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Mortgage-lending rules introduced last October appear to have helped slow the speed of rising house prices, the Reserve Bank said yesterday.

How fast and how far interest rates rise will depend in part on the exchange rate, says the Reserve Bank.

Another rise in the official cash rate next week remains a done deal, economists say, despite weaker-than-expected inflation in the March quarter.

New Zealand's inbound migration rose to a 10-year high last month, as China overtook the UK to become the biggest source of net migrants for the first time in a decade.

There's nothing like an interest rate increase and the promise of many more to focus the mind.

Mortgage brokers are urging borrowers to fix the interest rates on their loans and say it's not too late despite an expected increase in the official cash rate tomorrow.

The impact of the Reserve Bank's curbs on mortgage lending at high loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) on the housing market has been pretty modest so far.

Rising inflation poses a threat to NZ's growth and warrant a return to more normal interest rates, Graeme Wheeler says.

The OCR has been left unchanged this morning, making a March hike now 'a near certainty' according to one economist.

The NZIER shadow board believes the Reserve Bank should raise the official cash rate when it reviews it tomorrow.

The NZIER shadow board believes the Reserve Bank should leave the official cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent when it reviews it tomorrow.

Editorial: The Reserve Bank is sailing on largely uncharted sails with its restrictions on low-deposit home loans.

New rules restricting low deposit home loans will now not apply to new home builds, says the Reserve Bank.

Lending restrictions are starting to ease the pressure on the property market but first-home buyers are still finding it tough as prices and interest rates creep up.

Despite the introduction of the Reserve Bank's lending restrictions, home affordability has continued to worsen according to a new report.

Raising savings is the best way to sustainably take pressure off the exchange rate, says Reserve Bank assistant governor John McDermott.

A fall in the number of first-home buyers is plaguing Australia too - evidence, the Finance Minister says, that it's not the Reserve Bank's mortgage restrictions.

The Reserve Bank doubts its curbs on mortgage lending at high loan-to-value ratios will have a material counter-productive effect on house building.

Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has signalled he might push back the start of increases in the official cash rate if the New Zealand dollar stays high.

It may be six months or so before the Reserve Bank begins to raise the official cash rate, but monetary tightening is already under way, writes Brian Fallow.

Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has explained his decision to impose curbs on mortgage lending at low deposits.

The Reserve Bank has rejected claims that its curbs on low-deposit mortgage lending will have the perverse effect of reducing the amount of new housing.