Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s what to make of the prediction that house prices will fall further. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Behind the headlines of the Government’s Budget, there’s a bunch of nerdy stuff that can help us make better decisions with our money.

At the same time as saying what the Government is going to spend its cash on, they also release documents and forecasts, showing how the wheels are turning in our economy.

So the latest release with what Treasury had to say about housing was pretty interesting.

It’s expecting house prices fall 13.4% by the time we hit June 30th, the end of the financial year.

Then it’s predicting another 4.6% drop next year. If that happened, from the top to the bottom of the market, house prices will have fallen 21.3% all together.

After that? A slow, slow climb back in house prices until 2027, of around 3% each year.

It’s also picked up a drop in investors buying homes to rent.

What’s behind this? Higher interest rates, and low wage growth.

An interesting note there, if you’re finding life expensive, is that Treasury also thinks interest rates will start falling later this year.

All very interesting stuff, but what should you be doing about it? Whether you’re a first home buyer, or an investor, here are some strategies.

For the latest podcast I talked to Mark Harris, managing director, NZ Sotheby’s International Realty.

If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it.

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