New Zealand Struggles to Regain Economic Mojo Without Housing Recovery

For decades, New Zealand has relied on inflating the housing market to engineer a recovery during downturns, but the playbook has failed this time, putting policymakers ⁠in a quandary just as the Middle East war adds a new layer of uncertainty, Reuters reported. Even after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand aggressively slashed the benchmark interest rate from 5.5% to 2.25%, house prices still languish some 20% below their pandemic peak, dismantling the wealth effect that long anchored the economy.
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New Zealand Insolvencies Hit 15-Year High

Corporate failures in New Zealand reached their highest level in 15 years in 2025, with construction and hospitality among the hardest-hit sectors, according to a new Deloitte report, InsuranceBusinessMag.com reported. The firm’s New Zealand Insolvency Trends report found that formal appointments – covering liquidations, receiverships, and voluntary administrations – totalled 3,080 in 2025. This represents a 12% increase on 2024 and the highest annual figure since 2010.
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RBNZ Leaves Interest Rates on Hold, Expects Inflation to Soften

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting and said it expected inflation to retreat soon and for economic recovery to gather pace in the year ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported. “The economy is at an early stage in its recovery. With ongoing strength in commodity prices, economic activity in the agricultural sector and regional New Zealand remains strong,” the central bank said Wednesday. The official cash rate was held steady at 2.25% as expected.
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New Zealand Manufacturing Surges Back To Life In December

New Zealand’s economy is showing signs of a full blown recovery with manufacturing activity surging in December to its highest level since 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported. The BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index rose 4.4 points to 56.1 points in December from November, well above the average of 52.5 points since the survey began. All five sub-index values were in expansion during December, led by new orders, which achieved its highest level of activity since July 2021.
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Liquidators of Long-Running Timaru Business Yet to Obtain Payment for Two Large Projects

Two large outstanding accounts, cited as the reason for the liquidation of a long-running South Canterbury electrical, refrigeration and heat pump company last year, are yet to be paid, ThePress.co.nz reported. Siebers International provided services across South Canterbury for more than 40 years, before it was put into liquidation by shareholder resolution in November 2024, with owner Peter Siebers saying he hoped liquidators would “pick up the fight” over “two very large contractual disputes”.
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