By Tracy Withers July 27 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand consumers are less pessimistic about the economic outlook amid record-low interest rates and signs of a housing recovery, according to a survey conducted by Roy Morgan Research. The proportion of respondents who expect the economy will deteriorate over the next year fell to 41 percent in early July, the lowest since March last year, according to a survey of 1,039 people on Melbourne-based Roy Morgan’s Web site. Thirty one percent expect the economy will improve. Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has cut the benchmark interest rate by 5.75 percentage points since July last year to a record-low 2.5 percent and said last month he’s unlikely to raise borrowing costs until late 2010. House prices rose for the first time in six quarters in the three months through June. Forty five percent of consumers said it’s a good time to buy a major household item, up from 42 percent a month earlier. The survey was conducted in the two weeks ended July 19 and has a sampling error of 1.4 percentage points. To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at twithers@bloomberg.net.

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