Kiwi businesses see better times ahead

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander File photo

There has been a sizeable lift in confidence among businesses about the state of the economy.

More than a third (36 per cent) of respondents to the latest BNZ Business Confidence Survey of 25,000 readers expect the economy to be in better shape in a year's time, up from 22 per cent early last month.

The results follow last week's National Bank business confidence survey which showed firms were more cautious in the face of global financial market turmoil.

In that survey a net 34.4 per cent of businesses expected better times ahead for the economy, down from 48 per cent in last month's survey.

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said while firms were confident about the future, respondents remained largely downbeat about current conditions.

Many businesses were delaying business activity ahead of the Rugby World Cup, and other activity was expected to be sidelined until the competition was over.

"Overall margins appear to be tight, and while there is concern from exporters about the exchange rate, it is not as strong as one might expect.

Alexander said the survey responses suggested residential real estate listings remained in short supply and buyers remained cautious.

Auckland was shifting more and more towards a buyers' market, particularly in areas including Point Chevalier, Westmere and Grey Lynn.

"August was our best month in many years with multiple offers on most properties and many selling within a week and street records broken," one respondent said.

- NZ HERALD ONLINE