Fear of overpaying replaces FOMO in cooling Kiwi housing market

Hit hard: A worker at a home construction site near Wellington. New Zealand housing prices are forecast to drop by as much as 10% this year. — Bloomberg

THERE’S a new buzzword in New Zealand’s housing market – FOOP, the fear of overpaying.

After a year of frenzied price increases when the fear of missing out, or FOMO, prevailed, a credit squeeze and rising interest rates are now driving the market in the opposite direction. Some economists predict prices will sink as much as 10% this year.