To rent or buy?

[MotherBear]

To rent or buy - that is the question
Page 1 of 2 .........5:00AM Saturday March 08, 2008
By Maria Scott

As mortgage rates rise again, the property ladder will be pulled yet further away from some aspiring owners, at least for now. The good news is that, for many, the cost of renting is substantially lower than the cost of purchase.

Average weekly rents in the Auckland region were $325 and $423 for two- and three-bedroom properties respectively in January, the latest research from property agent Crockers shows. That works out at $16,900 and just under $22,000 a year.

The median price of an Auckland home in January was $432,750, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. At that price, a purchaser needing a 90 per cent mortgage would require a loan of just under $389,500. At today's mortgage rates of around 10 per cent, the cost would be nearly $38,950 a year, leaving little change out of $750 a week. That is before any principal is repaid on the loan or the owner pays for insurance, renovation or maintenance.

More here

[Cliff]

Real estate is going down in price in NZ at the moment. Interest rates will lower latter part of the year or first of next year.

They won't crash but may go down. The Real estate market is really slow right now.

[keeweegal]

Originally Posted by Cliff

Real estate is going down in price in NZ at the moment. Interest rates will lower latter part of the year or first of next year.

They won't crash but may go down. The Real estate market is really slow right now.

This is just what my Hamilton broker has said - don't buy until later in the year. Depending on what interest rates are doing, he may advised us to go on a floating rate & fix when/if they go lower.

[Tribesman]

I viewed several properties recently in Christchurch. Houses are just not selling.Its true one should wait untill the end of the year for a real bargain. Nearly all of the properties end up at auction. I have seen properties at $420000 let go at auction for 370000. if they are desperate will go for less because the buyer or the banks have to take the best offer.if you got the cash,can make a real kill, but i still would wait untill later in the year. One mans loss is another mans gain.

[nickydwuk]

As we are coming out in September its looks good for us getting the property we want at a good price then.

[jandk]

we were worried about the low pound and exchanging at lower rate but we got a house that was 565,000 4 months ago then they reducedto 519,000
put in some cheeky offers and have just bought at 472,500.5 beds ,2 living etc so for me its all about that specific property and how desperate the vendors are at the time. Lesson is we have walked away from a few who didnt except our low offers but hang in there and you could just hit at the right time!