Covid-19 has wreaked havoc for the travel and tourism sector, but the remainder of New Zealand’s economy has shown its resilience in fine style. It’s now clear that the economy will be damaged, but not as severely as originally feared. We predict a peak unemployment rate of 6.2%, which is about the same as the 2009 recession. House prices are skyrocketing, and we think this is just the beginning. By mid-2021 we expect house price inflation will be 15%, roughly the same as 2016. The political and social fallout will be just as intense as it was back then. Rising house prices are an unintended consequence of the ... (full story)