An Otago woman has donated the entire value of her home to charity. The woman, who lived in Arrowtown her entire life, bequeathed the proceeds of the sale of her home to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Guide Dog Services.
Seven thousand commercial building owners in Wellington are being surveyed on the issues they face paying for earthquake strengthening work and insurance the Canterbury earthquakes.
Auckland average house prices topped $600,000 for the first time in October, according to Barfoot and Thompson’s latest statistics. The average house price in the city last month was $618,707, an increase of nearly $33,000 on last month’s average.
Government moves to improve housing affordability have been slammed as weak by BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.
There were 22% more new houses consented for in September compared to the year before, Statistics New Zealand says.
Realestate.co.nz has reported signs of rising confidence in the market, as sellers pushed up the national truncated mean asking price to a new high of $445,529 in October.
Housing New Zealand has repaired 212 earthquake-damaged houses in Christchurch. Housing Minister Phil Heatley said: "This is a huge achievement in just six months and I congratulate the corporation. They have done a fantastic job.”
Auckland Council says it expects house prices to remain firm, with a million new residents expected over the next 30 years. It says it is taking action to boost supply to make housing more affordable and accessible.
Even houses that may require major repairs are selling well in Christchurch, the Real Estate Institute says. Sales of properties rated in technical category three (TC3), meaning further investigation is required to determine whether major repairs are needed, are beating sales expectations, an analysis of sales shows.
Some property investors will feel the sting of the Government’s moves to tackle housing affordability, but not as sharply as they might have, says the New Zealand Property Investors Federation.
A new website designed to help would-be sellers find real estate agents is helpful but won’t replace word-of-mouth recommendations, says Real Estate Institute president Helen O’Sullivan.
More development on Auckland’s fringes is not the answer to the housing affordability crisis, the Green Party says.
A programme launched today offers property developers advice to help them construct buildings that use up to 70% less energy than the average.
Landlords can expect especially good returns from top quality investment properties at present, says New Zealand Property Investors Federation president Andrew King.
The decision this morning to leave the official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5% hasn’t surprised anyone – but the hint of optimism included with the Reserve Bank governor’s statement has.
It needs to become cheaper to build houses if New Zealand is to avoid a situation where lower income families have nowhere to live, says BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.
Smart commercial landlords should strengthen their buildings well beyond the legal requirement - or hold off for now, says a property consultant.
Dealing with problem tenants could become a lot more expensive under changes to the judicial system being proposed by the Government. Geoff Knight, of debt recovery and collection service CIA, said many landlords would give up on recovering money they were owed from errant former tenants if the new fees scheme was adopted.
Investors with properties in Manukau are getting the best return on investment, according to the latest market research from Crockers.
Competition between banks is leading to a relaxation of lending standards, says BNZ chief executive Tony Alexander.
There are more options opening up for investors wanting a slice of the rural sector, according to Bayleys real estate.
Commercial property owners are being offered a new insurance policy that covers environmentally friendly reconstruction. It’s been developed by insurance broker Apex General in partnership with NZI.
New Zealand’s housing market is caught between two opposing forces and price rises may not be sustainable, ANZ’s latest Property Focus report says.
Young buyers and investors are active in the market, according to the latest BNZ/REINZ survey of real estate agents.
A lift in Christchurch retail activity has pushed the value of NPT Ltd’s property portfolio up 6.9% in six months.
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