Electricity use for home heating increases

More New Zealanders are using electricity to heat their homes and fewer are using gas, wood, or coal, according to census results released by Statistics New Zealand today.
18-03-2014 more >>

WOF an insult not a protection

The national federation representing Kiwi landlords is warning against progressing with the flawed rental WOF scheme, claiming its trialed roll-out is raising serious concerns for both tenants and landlords.
17-03-2014 more >>

What could be covered in a rental WOF?

There are currently two WOF systems being developed. One is a voluntary scheme currently being trialled by five Local Authorities around the country, the other is being developed for Housing NZ properties.
15-03-2014 more >>

Reserve Bank raises OCR to 2.75 percent

Statement by the Governor of the Reserve Bank today
13-03-2014 more >>

Buyers and investors leave market

The REINZ information shows that property investors as well as first home buyers have left the market.
12-03-2014 more >>

Easing tone to sales volumes, although prices firming in February Market

REINZ, the most up to date source of real estate data in New Zealand, announced today that there were 6,125 dwelling sales in the month of February, down 7.6% on February last year, but up 29.8% compared to January
11-03-2014 more >>

LVR rules not working: Harcourts

Provisional data from New Zealand’s largest real estate group Harcourts for the month of February shows there is continued pressure on the housing market in Auckland and Northland. The group said its average sales price had reached $644,613 – up 13% on the same time last year.
05-03-2014 more >>

Positive economy not LVRs drives interest in rental investment

The Bank of New Zealand’s Nine Rewards Consumer Trends Survey indicates that interest in buying residential rental property has almost doubled since the LVRs were introduced
05-03-2014 more >>

Investing becoming more popular

More people are interested in buying investment properties since the loan-to-value rules kicked in, the latest BNZ Consumer Confidence survey shows. It found a net 45% of the respondents are confident that the economy will improve over the next year.
05-03-2014 more >>

Asking prices up, listing numbers down

Sellers were asking more for their properties than ever before in February, according to real estate listing website Realestate.co.nz. The site reported a national, seasonally-adjusted mean asking price of $483,099.
04-03-2014 more >>

Low rents deter home buyers

Low rents are discouraging people from buying their own homes, according to the New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF). NZPIF executive officer Andrew King said the cost of owning an average home was about $138 a week more than the cost of renting a similar property.
02-03-2014 more >>

Building consent drop less than expected

A drop in building consents in January wasn’t enough to reverse a trend of increasing construction activity, Statistics NZ said today. “The trend for new dwellings has doubled since the historic low point in March 2011, but is still 28% below the peak in January 2004,” industry and labour statistics manager Blair Cardno said.
28-02-2014 more >>

Migration hits 10-year high

Immigration has hit its highest pace in more than 10 years, and that is expected to put further pressure on house prices. There was a net gain of 3090 people in January, taking the annual total to more than 25,000 – the highest rate since 2004. ANZ’s economists said the influx of people was pushing up demand for housing and supply was still tight.
27-02-2014 more >>

Fees hurt landlords

Trade Me has increased its charges for rental property listings, and landlords are not happy about it. It still costs $99 to list a rental property with an asking rent of less than $400 per week. But the fee to list a property that will rent for between $400 and $799 a week has increased to $129, and a property with an asking rent of $800 or more now costs $149 to advertise.
26-02-2014 more >>

Impact of rules revealed

Napier and Wellington have experienced the biggest drops in first-home buyer numbers since the loan-to-value restrictions kicked in, Property IQ data shows. Both have reported a drop of 5.4% in first-home buyers since the rules took hold.
24-02-2014 more >>

Will rental WOFs make the grade?

On paper it sounds like a great idea. A checklist for rental properties which, if mandatory, would ensure that the 31 per cent of the population who rent are in liveable homes. Increasingly, though, there are murmurs from landlords and real estate agents about whether the rental "warrant of fitness" idea being proposed at council level will improve the tenant's lot.
23-02-2014 more >>

WCC undertakes rental property WOF in February

The Wellington City Council recently released a media statement confirming that a trial Rental Property Warrant of Fitness was going to be undertaken during February. Local Authorities in Auckland, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin are also taking part in the trial.
22-02-2014 more >>

Auckland rents increase

Almost all areas of Auckland and sizes of properties reported rent increases in January, according to Crockers’ latest report. The biggest rental increase for three-bedroom properties was seen in the Birkenhead/Northcote Point area. Their average weekly rent increased 11% compared to the year before.
21-02-2014 more >>

Interest rates drive prices down: Westpac

New Zealand’s housing market is firmly in slowdown mode, Westpac’s chief economist says. Dominick Stephens said data from QV and REINZ confirmed the beginning of a trend. He said the fall in sales was most noticeable in the cheaper end of the market and had hit all regions except Queenstown.
20-02-2014 more >>

Construction costs increase

Rising housing construction costs will underpin the prices of existing homes, BNZ’s chief economist says. Average residential construction costs rose 1.1% in the December quarter to sit 4.5% higher than a year earlier.
20-02-2014 more >>

Property investors provide a service and fill the gap

The census document NZ in Profile 2014 and the findings of the BNZ/REINZ Residential Market Survey hint at a disturbing trend regarding home ownership in this country. Overall the residential market is improving compared with the findings of the previous BNZ/REINZ survey.
19-02-2014 more >>

Housing WOF trial gets underway

Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced the start of a trial Warrant of Fitness scheme on Housing New Zealand homes.
19-02-2014 more >>

State house WOF

Housing New Zealand properties are paid for by taxpayers and it is these taxpayers who will end up paying for any cost increases in providing HNZ tenants with accommodation.
19-02-2014 more >>

WOFs kick off

A Warrant of Fitness scheme for Housing New Zealand homes will target 500 houses between now and July, Housing Minister Nick Smith announced today. He said the system needed to be practical so it could be applied to thousands of houses across New Zealand. “We need to be cautious of removing houses from the rental market when there is a shortage. We also need to ensure that the benefits of the Warrant of Fitness standard exceed the costs, because housing affordability is a significant issue.”
19-02-2014 more >>

Property developer jailed

A property developer was today sentenced to six years in prison for a $47 million mortgage fraud. Malcolm Duncan Mayer was found guilty in December of 16 charges of dishonestly using a document and 10 charges of using forged documents.
18-02-2014 more >>