New Zealanders borrowed an additional $761 million in mortgages in March, bringing the total owed on housing to $69.502 billion, according to the latest Reserve Bank figures.
March’s mortgage borrowing was 72% more than the $443 million borrowed in February and the total outstanding is $4.989 billion, or 7.7%, more than was outstanding on mortgages at the end of March last year.
Between March 2000 and March 2001, mortgage borrowing grew by $3.387 billion, or 5.5%.
Total household indebtedness in March was $76.617 billion, up from $75.873 billion in February and $71.028 billion in March last year. Borrowing for purposes other than mortgages actually fell $17 million in March, although it was up 9.2% on a year earlier.
