New Zealand households are getting poorer as high interest rates cut the value of their properties and other investments. Statistics NZ’s March data, released Thursday, showed household net worth had fallen for a fifth consecutive quarter, driven by a 2.6% drop in owner-occupied property values. A $42.7 billion (or 1.9%) decline in household net worth during the first three months of 2023 brought the annual decline to $175 billion, or 7.3%. The collective net worth of New Zealand households was $2.2 trillion as of March 2023, down 9.2% from its high of $2.4 trillion at the end of 2021. However, this decline followed ... (full story)