It seems that households have become more cautious in their financial habits, borrowing less and saving more. The household saving rate has risen back to around 4 per cent over the past year, after being close to zero in the early part of the decade (Graph 7).
Investment in new housing is also growing at only a modest pace, despite fast growth in the population. This is because of the relatively high cost of housing, rigidities in the housing supply process and difficulties for developers in obtaining finance. Graph 7  Business investment, however, is at very high levels.