Leverage Addicts

In this episode, MHQ’s Head of Advice, Simon McDonald, sits down with Zhiyang Cheng, New Zealand’s number one ranked mortgage adviser, to discuss the current state of the property market. The conversation covers a range of topics related to property prices, investing, and long-term thinking.Simon and Zhiyang talk about what’s happening in the housing market, what investors are doing right now, and how to think about the future. They also touch on interest rates, affordability, and what might happen next.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/property-prices-the-long-game-what-smart-investors-do-during-the-downturn-and-whats-next/

Auckland is at war with itself.On one side — the old guard of villa-lined suburbs, heritage zoning, and backyard nostalgia.On the other — the new skyline: cranes, towers, and the vertical revolution promising affordability and density.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/the-great-auckland-housing-war-villas-vs-towers-and-who-gets-crushed/

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is standing at a crossroads — and every homeowner, investor, and policymaker is about to feel the impact.After years of rate hikes, stimulus, and economic whiplash, the RBNZ is quietly rewriting its playbook. The Official Cash Rate (OCR) — once just a technical lever — is now the single most powerful force shaping who wins and who loses in the next property cycle.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/rbnz-and-the-ocr-reform-that-could-decide-who-wins-big-in-2026/

Auckland is cracking.The skyline still glitters, but beneath it, the numbers are bleeding.Housing affordability has imploded. Productivity has flat-lined. Infrastructure is buckling. And for the first time in decades, the nation’s economic engine is coughing smoke instead of power.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/house-buying/aucklands-breaking-point-housing-costs-productivity-collapse-and-the-investor-edge/

New Zealand is facing a construction collapse like we haven’t seen in over a decade. Building activity is at a 10-year low, projects are being shelved, and developers are walking away. It looks like bad news — but history tells us that when construction falls off a cliff, the stage is set for the next housing boom.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/constructions-death-spiral-why-nzs-10-year-low-in-building-work-guarantees-a-housing-boom/

Christopher Luxon is under pressure, and the whispers of a “Luxon coup” are impossible to ignore. In this video, host Craig Stanaway sits down with former Cabinet Minister Maurice Williamson, who served in both the fourth and fifth National governments. Williamson was there in 1998 when Jenny Shipley rolled Jim Bolger to become Prime Minister — a front-row witness to one of New Zealand’s most brutal political takedowns.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/luxon-and-the-coup-question-brutal-lessons-from-thatcher-clinton-and-clark/

The New Zealand property market feels flat, lifeless — even dead. But beneath the surface, the next housing shock is already forming. Could 2026 deliver a 5% surge in house prices after years of stagnation?Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/house-buying/housings-next-shock-why-2026-could-deliver-a-5-price-surge-from-todays-dead-market/

New Zealand savers are sitting on a mountain of cash — more than $160 billion locked away in term deposits. But with the Reserve Bank cutting rates and returns sinking fast, investors are asking the brutal question: why leave money stuck in the bank when smarter plays are calling?Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/mortgage/the-160-billion-exodus-why-kiwi-investors-are-about-to-abandon-term-deposits-and-where-the-money-will-flood-next/

New Zealand’s property market just got hit with one of the most dramatic shifts in years: foreign buyers are back. But there’s a twist - the $5 million entry point. What does this loophole really mean for housing, investment, and the future of Kiwi ownership?Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/foreign-buyers-are-back-the-5m-shortcut-changing-nz-property-forever/

Auckland’s housing market has reached a breaking point — with the average home price now pushing $2 million, the city is locked in a brutal battle over how to build its future. Should we go higher with apartment towers, densify with endless rows of three-storey walk-ups, or see Wellington step in with a ministerial takeover that strips local councils of power?Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/house-buying/aucklands-2-million-homes-showdown-towers-three-storeys-or-ministerial-takeover/

When the Reserve Bank of New Zealand signals a drop in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.5%, it doesn’t just ripple through the economy - it sends a shockwave. Property markets wake up, investors reposition, the Kiwi dollar tumbles, and households across New Zealand start to feel the shift in their wallets.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/mortgage/the-rbnz-shockwave-why-slashing-rates-to-2-5-will-supercharge-property-and-sink-the-kiwi-dollar/

The Reserve Bank has just signalled what could be the biggest shift in New Zealand’s property and economic landscape in years — a new playbook that points to an OCR settling at 2.5%. For property owners, investors, first-home buyers, and anyone watching the housing market, this isn’t just a number. It’s a bombshell that could reset the rules of the game.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/the-2-5-bombshell-how-the-rbnzs-new-playbook-will-rewrite-nz-property/

New Zealand’s housing market is heading into a supply meltdown - and the consequences will be brutal for anyone not prepared. In this must-watch episode, host Craig Stanaway sits down with ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley to uncover why today’s housing shortage isn’t a passing problem but the trigger for tomorrow’s price explosion.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/mortgage/nz-housing-supply-meltdown-why-todays-shortage-will-explode-prices-tomorrow/

Easy Money Is Dead. 2026 Will Decide Who Wins and Who Gets Wiped Out.For years, cheap credit fuelled a frenzy in New Zealand property. Low interest rates. Easy mortgages. Skyrocketing prices. It felt like the party would never end. But as every investor now knows - easy money was a drug. And the comedown is brutal.With 2026 looming like Judgment Day, the question is clear: are you positioned to survive, or will you be left behind?Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/property-investment/the-end-of-easy-money-how-kiwi-investors-will-be-made-or-broken-in-2026/

BREAKING NEWS: The Reserve Bank has just slashed the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points, taking it down to 3% - and the ripple effects for New Zealand property, mortgages, and investors could be massive.Learn more: https://mhq.co.nz/mortgage/why-did-nz-just-drop-interest-rates-to-3-percent/