Residential property prices continued to creep up in August, according to QV. Its latest index has been released, showing that values have risen 1.6% nationwide over the past three months, 4.8% over the past year and are now 0.4% off their 2007 peak. 11-09-2012 more >>
There were 843 more sales in August this year than the same month last year, an increase of 16.2%, latest statistics from the Real Estate Institute show. But chief executive Helen O’Sullivan says the market is still subdued by normal standards. 10-09-2012 more >>
In response to claims that only 5% of rental properties in New Zealand are insulated, the NZ Property Investors' Federation has undertaken a survey of their members to more accurately estimage insualtion levels. 10-09-2012 more >>
Rental Property WOF not needed
The NZ Property Investors’ Federation is a strong supporter of insulating rental properties, but is against suggestions to introduce a Warrant of Fitness for rental property. 07-09-2012 more >>
People using property finders to purchase homes and rental properties should be careful of situations where the finder gets a secret commission from both the buyer and the seller, says property commentator Olly Newland. 07-09-2012 more >>
A property commentator says selling all four houses from TV programme The Block on the same day made good television but not good sense. The reality show, which followed four teams renovating homes on Auckland’s North Shore, culminated in a final last night, where the homes went under the hammer. 07-09-2012 more >>
Residential building rates jumped in the June quarter, up 7.1%, led by strong growth in Canterbury. By comparison, non-residential building work contracted by 5.6%. 06-09-2012 more >>
Warrants of fitness for rental properties are not the solution to unhealthy homes, says the New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation. 06-09-2012 more >>
Auckland house prices sold in record numbers in August but prices remain steady, Barfoot and Thompson says. Managing director Peter Thompson said: “In August we sold 1016 homes, the third time this year that we have sold more than 1000 homes in a month. In terms of sales numbers we are certainly in a period of high activity as in the previous four years we sold 1000 homes in a month on only one other occasion (in March 2011).†05-09-2012 more >>
Property is in the Inland Revenue Department’s sights again this year. It has released its compliance focus document for the 2012-2013 year, which details the steps it will take to ensure property investors and traders are paying the correct amounts of tax. 04-09-2012 more >>
More regulation around real property proportionate ownership schemes is unlikely to deter investors, says Mark Schiele, chief executive of Oyster Property Group. 03-09-2012 more >>
He’s had some of the highest-profile publicity available for the house he wants to sell but Trevor Palmer says so far that hasn’t turned into any extra inquiries. 03-09-2012 more >>
The NZ Property Investors’ Federation needs to gain more information on rental property insulation for both lobbying purposes and obtaining discounts for members. 01-09-2012 more >>
Rental prices in New Zealand have grown well over the past few years, however this growth has slowed through this years winter months. The median rental price grew from $330 in January this year to $340 in May, but fell in July to $320. 01-09-2012 more >>
High-profile property developer and racehorse owner Don Ha has been bankrupted. Ha and his wife Mohini were bankrupted in the Auckland High Court yesterday after action brought by KiwiBank, supported by BNZ, Westpac, ANZ National and the Public Trust. 31-08-2012 more >>
Construction growth is tailing off everywhere except Auckland and Canterbury, the Registered Master Builders Federation says. The latest building consent figures show an increase in activity on 2011, with 1478 house and apartment consents issued in July 2012, a 26 per cent increase on the same month a year before. 31-08-2012 more >>
Landlords have been getting a bad rap over recent weeks, with newspaper articles outlining property investors’ seeming reluctance to take up the Warm Up NZ subsidy for retrofitting insulation. 30-08-2012 more >>
Access to safe, decent, affordable housing is the single biggest issue facing hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders, according to a report from Salvation Army social policy analyst Alan Johnson. 30-08-2012 more >>
Nearly a billion dollars’ worth of building consents was approved in Canterbury in the first half of 2012, quickly approaching the 1.2 billion consented over the whole of last year. 29-08-2012 more >>
Are NZ property prices really too high?
The Economist magazine recently stated that New Zealand house prices were 66% over valued based on a comparison to New Zealand rental prices. The NZ Property Investors’ Federation believes that the magazine’s study uses the wrong figures for rental price and expected rental return. The Federation also believes that the magazine has not examined whether rental prices are in fact too low when using them to reach a conclusion on property prices. 28-08-2012 more >>
Landlords must be careful if they try to recover new water costs by adding them to the rent they charge, says the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. 28-08-2012 more >>
The Economist magazine recently stated that New Zealand house prices were 66% over valued based on a comparison to New Zealand rental prices. The NZ Property Investors’ Federation believes that the magazine’s study uses the wrong figures for rental price and expected rental return. The Federation also believes that the magazine has not examined whether rental prices are in fact too low when using them to reach a conclusion on property prices. 28-08-2012 more >>
