09 December 2011

Auckland’s property values are now above the 2007 peak, with growing numbers of property investors being attracted back into the market. QV’s residential property index for November stated that two well known property investment groups are back in the Auckland property market.

Glenda Whitehead from QV Valuations said “Investors are starting to come back to the market”. Regarding what action these investors plan to take, Whitehead said they are “looking to buy, upgrade and on-sell at a healthy profit”. The other majority “require a definite positive cash flow return”.

The current Auckland property market sits at 0.6% above the 2007 market peak which can be attributed to increased activity from first time home buyers, and property investors.

Old Auckland City has seen the greatest increase in value, which is up 4.7% this year (2.5% above the 2007 peak).

Jonno Ingerson, research director at QV emphasised that values have been increasing not only in Auckland but on a nationwide scale, “values have now begun to increase across the rest of the main centre’s, as well as in many of the provincial and rural towns. New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington has also shown growth and continues to show signs of positivity.

There are positive signs in both Hamilton and Tauranga in recent months, although still sitting below the 2007 market peak, the Christmas and the New Year surge should help build stability for these cities.

The demand for ‘undamaged houses’ in Christchurch has strengthened the property market, pushing values up 3.6% from last year, and only 1.7 below the 2007 market peak. Christchurch’s surrounding districts Waimakariri and Selwyn are well above the previous market peak, and have increased 6.9% and 5.3% in values respectively.

Ingerson also mentioned the encouraging activity due to happen over the month of December in the build up to Christmas. He also pointed out “the strength of this activity will depend to some extent on how economic events pan out in Europe”.

Nelson and Dunedin have also seen growth in the last three months, with Dunedin increasing 2.4% and Nelson 3.2%.

8 December 2011

In the year leading up to June 2011, New Zealand saw an increase of the average weekly rent by 7.4%. Rent payments were also increased to 35% of all New Zealand households.

The data from Statistics New Zealand’s Household Economic Survey found that in the two years leading up to June 2011, those spending roughly a third of their income on housing increased from 19.5% to 21.8%. Those living in rental housing in New Zealand also saw an increase from 33.8% to 39.1%.

The survey discovered that rental accommodation saw an increase in rent by 7.4% in 2010/11 compared to average rental income in 2009/10. This is an increase following a trend seen in 2009/10 of a 6.6% rent increase to that of 2008/09.

There was 5% increase in households paying rent more than $300 a week, from 33% in 09/10 up to 38% of households in 10/11.

The survey also showed an increase in average household income by $2,575 from $76,584 in June 2010 to $79,159 in the year ended June 2011.

The trends seen in Statistics New Zealand’s survey can have some attribution to the growing property market in New Zealand. With high demand in rental properties across New Zealand, notably Auckland and Wellington who have experienced an increase in rental housing demand up to 30%. We can expect to see rent to go up in these major cities, where New Zealand property investors will take advantage of the growing demand and strengthening property market.

Ref: landlords.co.nz

Nov 2011

In recent years Britain has seen the economy take a turn for the worst. With unemployment continuing to rise, and ongoing business insecurity has resulted in a record number of enquires for those wanting to move to both New Zealand and Australia.

The Overseas Guides Company has seen requests for Australia up 160%, but it was New Zealand that had an overwhelming surge in requests with a staggering 735% increase from the last quarter.  Overseas Guides Company editor, Richard Way said “it’s not surprising” referring to the increase in interest to purchase property in New Zealand and Australia, which is related to the soaring numbers wanting to immigrate ‘down under’ in recent months.

A portion of interest could be attributed to popularity of the Rugby World Cup help in New Zealand during September and October of this year where New Zealand showcased the beauty of the country, and put their best foot forward.   However a lot of enquires can be related to the downfall of the European economy, on the brink of another recession. With fewer opportunities it’s understandable that amount of young Britons looking to work abroad in Australia and New Zealand. The process of immigrating to these countries has now become easier.

Ref: stuff.co.nz

18 October 2011

New Zealand is currently facing a housing shortage of approximately 45,000 homes. Bank of New Zealand’s Tony Alexander says there will need to be some extreme changes in New Zealand’s property sector and building code over the next few years if the Government is to help the shortage. But one thing is clear that property values look to increase, and property owners should experience increased valuations of their homes.

Alexander said that no matter what polices the government put in place to try and increase housing supply, the market will not be able to supply the amount of housing needed, putting more pressure on property prices. He also believes the shortage would be around for “a number a years.”

Alexander credited the property shortage to a number of factors including a reducing building trade in New Zealand including the introduction of builders being licensed next year. It’s also becoming more challenging to get finance for new subdivisions; New Zealand has an ageing population, and the current economic situation is adding to the process of purchasing property and household decisions.

The housing shortage will also result in New Zealand property investors sitting tight on their current investments, and will be looking to increase their portfolio before property prices reach even higher levels.  Property investors should look to capitalise on the current market situation.

Ref: interest.co.nz

7 Nov 2011

Education, income and health were assessed in the annual Human Development Index (HDI) released by the United Nations Development Program that ranks New Zealand 5th in the world. The index evaluated the standard of living, population access to knowledge and population chance of living a long and healthy life for 187 different countries. New Zealand is considered to have “very high human development” among other countries.

Nations that lead the HDI were Norway, Australia and Netherlands among other countries in the top ten included Ireland, Germany, United States, Sweden, Canada and Liechtenstein. Some of the wealthier nations did drop down in the HDI’s rankings once adjusted for internal inequalities in education, health and income. These included the United States, Israel and the Republic of Korea.

Chief statistician for the HDI, Milorad Kovacevic said “The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index helps us assess better the levels of development for all segments of society, rather than for just the mythical ‘average’ person,”. New Zealand achieved a high HDI value of 0.908 for 2011 and considered in the high human development category. Australia and Ireland were to closest nations to New Zealand in terms of HDI rank and population size.

Ref: stuff.co.nz

Source: Landlords.co.nz

11 December 2008

New Zealand has long been a popular relocation spot with UK nationals looking for a new life abroad. However, New Zealand has not traditionally been on the property investor’s radar, but with its property market showing promising monthly growth, it may be time to take a look at homes down under.

New Zealand’s average house price rose from NZ$330,000 to NZ$335,000 from September to October this year and according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), properties in 5 out of the country’s 12 regions increased in price during October 2008. Prices in the region of Taranaki, in the west of North Island, saw an increase of 8.67%, rising from NZ$262,250 to NZ$285,000. Prices in Northland (the northern part of North Island) also saw a rise in excess of 8%.

According to REINZ, the uncertainty that surrounded the last general elections has now been dispelled and the recent falls in both interest rates and fuel prices mean that confidence has returned to property investors. The latest rises in house prices would seem to confirm this tendency.

New Zealand is world-renowned for its spectacular scenery and high quality of life, and is a popular holiday destination. Recent accolades confirming New Zealand’s tourist potential include Golf Destination of the Year 2009 (for the region of Asia and Australasia), and the winner of Virgin Holidays’ Responsible Tourism Award as the world’s greenest destination.

In addition, New Zealand regularly hosts world-class events, particularly when it comes to sailing competitions. The forthcoming Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, a 2-week sailing competition to be held in Auckland during January 2009, is just one example.

“At a time when property markets in many countries are suffering a series of set-backs, the news from down under is surprisingly good,” comments James González, Market Analyst at Obelisk. James believes that New Zealand may well be the next place to investigate for property investment.

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.