Property info thread - ctd.....

[MotherBear]

Census confirms fewer people own their homes
2:50PM Wednesday May 02, 2007

Figures from last year's census have confirmed that fewer people now own the home they live in and fewer households live in a detached building.

One in three households (33 per cent) did not own the house they lived in, according to the 2006 census, up from 32 per cent in 2001 and 29 per cent in 1996.

The figure for those who did own their own house -- 70 per cent -- is down from a peak of 74 per cent in the 1991 census, though Statistics New Zealand said comparisons were difficult because more homes are owned through family trusts.

Of dwellings held in family trusts, 53 per cent did not have a mortgage.

People living in the Tasman and West Coast regions were the most likely to own their own house and people in Auckland were the least likely.

The total number of occupied private dwellings on census night was 1.47 million, up 8 per cent from the 2001 census.

Most occupied dwellings (81 per cent) are still separate houses but there are marked differences in the type of properties that people live in between regions.

The number of dwellings joined to another dwelling has shot up 20 per cent since 2001.

More here .

[MotherBear]

Government urged to tread carefully on house prices
3:45PM Thursday May 03, 2007

A parliamentary committee was today urged to tread carefully when making decisions to try and combat the spiralling problem of housing affordability.

Figures presented to the commerce select committee showed the gap between wage earnings and house prices in New Zealand continued to increase and was outstripping other western countries.

However, Westpac chief economist Brendan O'Donovan said he expected the heat to disappear from the market over the next few years and warned the Government against taking drastic measures to try and influence the situation itself.

"Essentially our housing correction is a matter of when, not if," he said.

Mr O'Donovan said he was aware the Government was anxious to ensure home ownership was within reach to all New Zealanders but urged caution in terms of introducing subsidies for new buyers or disincentives for investors.

For every potential solution there were always consequences further down the line, he said.

"Be wary of people coming in with solutions, because there is no one solution, there is no silver bullet."

More here .

[MotherBear]

Tougher building requirements revealed
5:10PM Thursday May 03, 2007

The government has revealed a raft of new regulations aimed at increasing energy efficiency, including tougher requirements for home insulation and energy efficient lighting in offices.

Prime Minister Helen Clark and Building and Construction Minister Clayton Cosgrove announced the changes to the Building Code and Compliance Documents today.

Miss Clark said the changes would help New Zealand move towards being a "truly sustainable nation".

"Creating more efficient houses and commercial buildings is a triple win for New Zealanders? health, our environment and our power bills," she said.

From November new houses in the South Island and the North Island?s Central Plateau will need more insulation and double-glazing.

Improvements to house insulation in the North Island will take effect in most of the North Island in July 2008 and for Auckland and further north from October next year.

Other changes include a compliance document that would reduce the cost of installing solar water heating systems by up to $500 and new requirements for energy efficient lighting in new and refitted commercial buildings.

Fron here .

[MotherBear]

Houses more affordable in South Island than North
By DAN EATON - The Press | Thursday, 3 May 2007

More South Islanders can afford to own the homes they live in than their northern counterparts, new figures show.

Rents are also lower on the Mainland, although the median weekly rent in Nelson has reached the same level as in Wellington.

But the figures, released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand in a report using 2006 census information, show that while more houses are being built, fewer New Zealanders on medium and low incomes can afford them.

The drop in home ownership and the increase in the number of people renting is most evident in under-40s earning less than $50,000 a year.

Pacific Islanders are the least likely to own their homes, with the problem most pronounced in the Auckland region, and there are more women who own homes than men.

Housing affordability has come under increased scrut-iny as spiralling interest rates push up the cost of mortgages.

The Government in March bowed to demands from National and agreed on Parliament's commerce select committee holding an inquiry into the rising cost of housing. In yesterday's report, the South Island fares better than the North.

More here .

[MotherBear]

Auckland property market finally takes a breather
1:00PM Friday May 04, 2007


The Auckland property market is taking what one real estate company is calling a "breather".

Barfoot and Thompson says the average sale price fell six per cent from March to April, from $564,000 to just over $532,000. However it says total sales for April were ahead of the same month last year.

These figures come out in the wake of recent news that the dream of owning a home is now well out of reach for the average wage-earner, many of whom appear doomed to a lifetime of renting.

A property consultancy predicted that 58 per cent of the population will be renting by 2016, with Auckland leading the way.

Analysing their latest statistics, the real estate firm blames a combination of school and public holidays, plus buyer caution prompted by rising interest rates.

Director Peter Thompson says holidays tend to disrupt the sales cycle, pointing to Easter, Anzac Day and two weeks of school holidays during April.

He says there was also a lot of anticipation the Reserve Bank was about to increase interest rates, a fear which proved well founded when Dr Bollard raised the Official Cash Rate (OCR) up to 7.75 per cent last week.

More here .

[MotherBear]

$5000 extra for hot homes
5:00AM Friday May 04, 2007
By Angela Gregory


Builders will have to conform to far more stringent regulations in the future.

Insulation rules for new homes will add up to $5000 to the cost of a house - but the Government says that will be offset by savings on power bills.

From November new houses in the South Island and the North Island's Central Plateau will need more insulation and double-glazing.

Improvements to house insulation in most of the North Island will take effect in July next year and in Auckland and Northland from October next year.

Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday announced the new building code requirements which aimed to make homes more energy-efficient. New homes and major extensions to existing homes would need to use about 30 per cent less heating energy to achieve the same indoor temperatures.

The code was performance-based so home-owners would be able to choose the insulation and design features that best suited their needs. Window double-glazing would be necessary in most cases, but it would be possible to retain single-glazed windows in warmer climates provided attention was given to house orientation, window size and design features.

Improved efficiency of lighting in new and refitted commercial buildings would also be required. Helen Clark said home-owners would benefit from warmer and drier houses.

The Government was also simplifying the compliance procedures for the installation of solar hot water systems which would lower the cost by about 10 per cent, or $500.

More here .

[MotherBear]

Housing costs dwarf 'luxuries'
5:00AM Saturday May 05, 2007
By Simon Collins

Savings on food, clothing and home supplies have enabled New Zealanders to cover a huge increase in housing costs over the past 50 years.

A Weekend Herald analysis of long-term spending patterns confirms property investor Andrew King's controversial statement last week that would-be home-buyers are spending more on "coffee and brand new cars and overseas trips".

Spending on cafes, private transport and overseas travel have all increased.

But this does not explain why today's young adults can't afford to buy the houses that previous generations bought, because spending on housing has increased even more than such "luxuries" - from just 7.6 per cent of the average household's spending 50 years ago to 17.1 per cent 25 years ago and 24.3 per cent today.

Today's young home-buyers, if they can afford to buy a house at all, can pay much higher house prices and interest rates than their parents or their grandparents did because the real prices of food, clothing and many other imported items have come down.

"Food prices have fallen because of increased productivity and, of course, lower returns in overseas markets," says economist Brian Easton.

And prices of clothing, home appliances and virtually all other imported consumer items have dropped dramatically with the dismantling of import controls and the transfer of manufacturing from New Zealand and other high-wage countries to low-wage locations such as China.

More here .

[MotherBear]

The real estate battle that is saving you big money
5:00AM Sunday May 06, 2007
By Ann Newbery

Home buyers look set to benefit from a more aggressive real estate market, as traditional agents compete with a new breed of property-sales companies offering to sell your house for less than ever before.

The newest deals promise to save homeowners more than $10,000 on the sale of a $500,000 house through a fixed-fee scheme. Companies that offer only marketing packages, such as HomeSell, could save owners almost $16,000 on the same house.

But many real estate agents are also willing to negotiate their traditional commission fees, as the battle intensifies.

Agents' commission rates vary, although fees of 3 to 4 per cent on the sale price plus advertising and administration fees on a property are traditionally typical, especially in Auckland.

The battle between agents and the newcomers coincides with a review of the more than 30-year-old Real Estate Agents Act by Building Minister Clayton Cosgrove, who has been scathing about many aspects of the industry and in particular of the Real Estate Institute.

Peter Hammond, national co-director of marketing company Green Door, said the real estate industry had reason to feel threatened as the number of private sales of homes increased, up from an estimated 10 per cent last year to 12-13 per cent this year. With an expected overhaul of the industry in the wings, he said: "I don't believe we'll still see the existing system two years from now. The writing is on the wall."

More here .

A bit more about real estate agents .

[MotherBear]

Fewer tempted to buy into housing boom
5:00AM Monday May 07, 2007
By Christopher Niesche

More people believe house prices will keep on rising, but in a sign that higher interest rates might be starting to bite, fewer believe now is a good time to buy a house, according to a survey published today.

The ASB Housing Confidence Survey found a net 55 per cent of respondents expected house prices to keep rising, up from 44 per cent three months ago.

"This result, which follows the marked jump in the preceding survey, is in line with many of the housing statistics that show the market gaining further steam this year," ASB said. "The housing market has been clearly gaining momentum since late 2006, and the price expectations of the latest survey suggest this momentum will be sustained."

The result comes despite two rises in the official cash rate by Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard this year to 7.75 per cent and a climb in two-year fixed-rate mortgages from 8.17-8.5 per cent to 8.42-8.9 per cent.

While higher interest rates have done little to dampen expectations of the housing market, fewer believe now is a good time to buy a house.

A net 3 per cent of respondents said it was a bad time to buy a house.

In January, a net 7 per cent felt it was a good time to buy.

"There are signs of increasing awareness that economic fundamentals may catch up with the market before too much longer," ASB said.

More here .

[MotherBear]

Mortgage rate rises 'cooling house market'
5:00AM Wednesday May 09, 2007
By Adam Bennett

Steep mortgage rate increases, particularly for long term fixed loans, will cool the rampant housing market by reducing property's appeal as an investment asset, Westpac Bank says.

The Reserve Bank's two 25-point official cash rate increases, as well as rate rises on wholesale money markets, have led to "huge changes" to fixed-term mortgage rates which are now at their highest levels since the housing boom began, said Westpac economist Dominick Stephens.

Higher debt servicing costs had effectively reduced the value of property for the investors who had been significant drivers of the boom.

As at the end of last year, Westpac calculated the investor value of the median house was $327,000.

This was in line with the Real Estate Institute's median house price at the time.

But with the mortgage rate increases, Westpac's valuation had fallen to $278,000 and the REINZ median house price had risen to $343,500 in March.

"That means buying an investment property at today's prices, while paying today's mortgage rates, is unlikely to yield a good return," said Stephens.

The housing boom was originally driven by supportive economic fundamentals for investors. These included low interest rates, and an increase in the top marginal tax rate.

More here .