10 November, 2008

Real estate experts are saying that there is no better time to buy property than right now. Prices have dropped, mortgage rates are down and there are some bargains out there.

More and more buyers are searching the web to buy and one of New Zealand’s leading real estate websites has one of the most comprehensive portfolios of listings of properties of any website in the country.

Every month there are over 270,000 hits and over 111,000 listings, but just what are the most popular areas that buyers have been looking for property in across the country?

“One would assume the most active suburbs would be the elitist suburbs, the most expensive suburbs,” Alistair Helm said. “But what we found was it was guineen interest and that speaks to people using the website who are actively looking for property.”

The fifth most popular suburb is Westmere in Auckland, which is a sought-after inner city suburb where older people are moving out and the younger generation moving in.

The proximity to the CBD is the most appealing element of it. As Auckland grows it makes it an attractive area.

Average sale price in the last six months according to quotable value is $803,676.

The fourth most popular suburb for buyers looking for property is Maori Hill in Dunedin, which is an affluent suburb that features some of the city’s largest and most established homes, along with some of the city’s most breathtaking views.

The average price for a home in Maori Hill $417,375.

Cashmere Hills which overlooks Christchurch, is another established suburb with older-style large homes and home to many professionals.

The average sale price for a house in the Cashmere Hills is $572,983.

The second most popular suburb for buyers is Dunedin’s St Clair, which is a lifestyle suburb by the sea with views over the city.

A house in St Clair would set a buyer back around $344,738.

The number one suburb in New Zealand for home buyers is Dallington in Christchurch. The suburb is close to the city centre and sits near the Avon River. The housing are mostly Bugalows and are affordable for many families with an average price of $317,038.

Source: NZ Herald 

11 June, 2008

They’re the very things we love to complain about, but public transport, a top-notch health service and attractive rental accommodation make New Zealand’s cities among the best places in the world to live.

The Mercer 2008 Quality of Living survey ranked Auckland fifth and Wellington 13th in a list of 215 cities worldwide.

As in 2007, Swiss and German cities took most of the top 10 spots, while Baghdad ranked as the worst place in the world to live.

The study by global consulting firm Mercer checked each city against a list of criteria including personal safety, schools and education, and climate. Factors like political stability and personal freedom were also taken into account. Each city was given a score compared to New York, the benchmark city, with a base score of 100. Auckland had the best quality of living of any city in the Asia Pacific region, followed by Sydney and Wellington.

Auckland and Wellington held on to their 2007 rankings, while Sydney slipped one place to 10th. Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide ranked further down in 17th, 21st and 29th places.

Auckland’s “excellent” range of restaurants won a special mention.

Auckland and Wellington both received perfect scores for housing, with surveyors commenting on their attractive rental properties and prestigious residential districts. They tied at 10th in the world for personal safety.

The Mercer survey is designed to help governments and big companies when they place employees in other countries.

Mercer’s head of information product solutions, Rob Knox, said the results were great news for New Zealand employers trying to attract overseas workers.

Auckland Mayor John Banks said the results were “very flattering” but he would like to see Auckland at number one. “To be frank, there is much room for progress and even more room for improvement.”

The most dangerous cities in Europe and the Americas were Bogota, Colombia, which ranked 207th for personal safety, and Moscow, at 196th. London ranked 69th for personal safety and 38th for quality of living - up one place from 2007.