Today I will review the progress being made towards a better balance in the housing market and discuss the potential implications for Reserve Bank policies. 2. Housing market activity is weakening  After gathering momentum from mid-2012, the housing market looks to have slowed in the six months since LVR restrictions were introduced.
The volume of nationwide house sales has dropped considerably (figure 2.1), with the number of sales in March 11 percent lower than in September last year. The decline in sales volumes has been reasonably widespread across the country, with the exception of Canterbury where sales were down only 1 percent over the same period.