Mortgage approvals slumping

The number of mortgage approvals has slumped to a record low in the latest week to October 3. Only 5,117 mortgages were approved in that week, the lowest since this RBNZ data series started in October 2003 (excluding the weeks in the Christmas-New Year period). Most approvals relate to rollover arrangements, but grow based on new business. However, the average approval value spurted up to $119,250, eight percent higher than the average over the prior quarter. Clearly banks have cut back and are focussing on fewer higher value transactions.