Lower mortgage rates, and income growth have helped improve housing affordability

Cotality NZ's new report finds the national value-to-income ratio reached its lowest point since mid-2019 - in the June quarter, at 7.5.

National property values also remain almost 17 percent below their post-covid peak.

Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson says mortgage serviceability has seen a significant change, compared to its 2022 high of 57 percent.

He says it now takes around 44 percent of the median household income- so it's getting close to normal.