Property info thread - ctd.....

[MotherBear]

A timely warning to those who are selling up and buying another house .

[MotherBear]

Home ownership forecast to tumble
12:00PM Wednesday August 15, 2007

The rate of home ownership is expected to tumble over the next 10 years, according to research released today.

There will be regional variations, with Auckland and Gisborne having the lowest proportions of people owning their own home and Marlborough the highest.

Overall, home ownership rates are projected to drop by a whopping 5 percentage points, to 62 per cent between 2006 and 2016, according to the Centre for Housing Research, Aotearoa New Zealand (CHRANZ).

Its figures are based on the 2006 Census which showed young people were hardest hit when it came to the housing market.

More here .

[MotherBear]

At last, a glimmer of hope on mortgages
Page 1 of 2 5:00AM Wednesday August 15, 2007
By Adam Bennett

Consumer spending fell unexpectedly in the June quarter, giving the clearest evidence yet that Reserve Bank interest rate increases are slowing the economy.

The New Zealand dollar fell almost 1c against the US currency as money markets factored in the diminishing likelihood that Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard will have to lift rates again this year.

This will bring relief for home owners with mortgages, who have had four consecutive rate rises this year.

Adjusted for inflation, retail sales fell 0.6 per cent in the three months to June, the first fall in the quarterly measure since December 2005.

More here .

[MotherBear]

More pain for householders
Page 1 of 2 5:00AM Saturday August 18, 2007
By Adam Bennett

The "credit crunch" that has sent the sharemarket and New Zealand dollar tumbling is threatening to drive mortgage costs even higher when households are already struggling with the effects of four Reserve Bank rate increases this year.

Big international investors exposed to increasing defaults at the low-quality end of the United States mortgage market have run for cover by dumping riskier assets, including New Zealand shares and currency.

What's more, as the investors seek to strengthen their financial position by gathering up and holding on to cash, the supply of money on international markets has slowed.

That has resulted in a higher cost of funds for banks, which who will inevitably be forced to pass that on to borrowers.

More here

Timely reminder for buyers

[MotherBear]

3 years of rate rises tipped to top 37 per cent
Page 1 of 2 5:00AM Friday August 31, 2007
By Bernard Orsman

Property and water rates in Auckland City are forecast to soar by 37.3 per cent and 30 per cent respectively over the next three years if October's local body elections do not force changes of policies.

Mayor Dick Hubbard and the City Vision-Labour ticket must defend a term in which rates rose by 21.4 per cent and projections from council documents that they would rise 37.3 per cent more under current policy.

The opposition Citizens & Ratepayers and their unofficial mayoral candidate John Banks promise lower rates but are vague about how much and where big spending cuts would be made if they win control of the council.

A sweeping review of local government funding advised on Tuesday that rates were becoming increasingly unaffordable for many ratepayers and councils should restrain spending.

More here .

[kokopeli]

[MotherBear]

What's with Kokopeli's inscrutable posts throughout the forum today? Is he trying to tell us something? Is it some kind of secret code? Or is he after forum domination? People have been banned for less.

[MotherBear]

Home prices rise $50,000
By RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post | Monday, 10 September 2007

Despite rocketing interest rates and the Government's best attempts to rein in rampant property speculation, house prices nationwide are still nearly $50,000 higher than they were a year ago.

Annual property statistics issued by Quotable Value today show a 13.3 per cent growth in national property values for the year to the end of August. The average house price was $394,397.

Last month Quotable Value reported signs that the real estate boom was slowing. The Real Estate Institute reported the median house price had fallen $5000 between May and July and that July sales were the lowest for the month in six years.

However, QV spokesman Blue Hancock said year-on-year growth remained strong. "Reduced winter listings have been matched by less buyer activity, creating a balance in the market and resulting in prices still holding up in most areas."

The Wellington region recorded growth of 16.5 per cent - the average sale price for the three months ending August was $448,267. Auckland City, Hamilton and Christchurch also scored price growth of above 14 per cent, while Invercargill retained top position with a 34 per cent increase.

In Wellington city, the prices were up 14.7 per cent and the average sale price rose to $516,000.

The western suburbs of Wellington were the priciest neighbourhoods in the capital, with an average price of more than $570,000. Upper Hutt prices increased 21.5 per cent to an average $333,882 and Lower Hutt was up 20 per cent to an average $383,579.

However, the "very buoyant figures" for the Wellington region were likely to ease in coming months as consistently low levels of sale activity played out, said Max Meyers of QV Valuations.

"With this in mind, more caution should be exercised in pricing property, as ambitious pricing is highly unlikely to be covered in the current market conditions."

The Reserve Bank is expected to hold official interest rates at 8.25 per cent on Thursday.

Some economists are not expecting rates to be cut for at least a year, despite a cooling economy, a slowdown in the housing market and a drop in domestic spending.

Retail sales volumes fell 0.6 per cent in the June quarter. Spending is being hit by a combination of higher mortgage interest rates, slowing migration, a cooling housing market and higher petrol prices, reducing the amount of cash available for other goods.

From here .

[MotherBear]

Real estate market 'extremely quiet'
5:00AM Wednesday September 19, 2007
By Anne Gibson

A bank survey of residential real estate sector sentiment has presented a pessimistic picture, with many professionals saying the market has turned down fast.

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander released the monthly confidence survey this week. The survey went to 11,500 people, who were asked how their sector was going and if the economy would get better.

Results showed many people had noticed a downturn in house sales and were less optimistic about the sector's fortunes.

Agents said the market was extremely quiet, with low sales volumes and prices dropping, particularly in Auckland.

More here

[MotherBear]

Rent rage in tight housing market
5:00AM Sunday September 30, 2007
By Ann Newbery

One in four New Zealand tenants suffer from "rent rage" - and the phenomenon is set to grow as more people are shut out of owning their own home.

According to a national survey by property website allrealestate.co.nz more than half of the 170 online respondents expressed "anxiety" over their rental predicament, with rising rents appearing to have triggered feelings of rage and fury among a quarter of Kiwi renters.

Only nine per cent of respondents said they were happy with their accommodation, while 1.7 per cent reported feeling well cared for by their landlords.

One-third of surveyed renters feared they would never own their own home.

The issue of first-home buyers literally being shut out of home ownership has been a hot topic this year. Only last month a home affordability survey found that, in Auckland, almost 100 per cent of a single median-income was required to afford the mortgage on a median-priced house. In Wellington, it was more than 80 per cent.

More here .