Get in quick!

[MotherBear]

Tide may be turning
Page 1 of 2 ........5:00AM Sunday May 18, 2008
By Jacqueline Smith

A surge in house-buying last week has prompted warnings that first-home buyers holding out for a bargain should get in before they miss out.

This follows predictions major banks will lower interest rates and the official cash rate may fall by September. Kiwibank was the first to lower its two-year mortgage rate below 9 per cent, announcing on Friday a drop from 9.29 to 8.99 per cent, and sparking speculation that its competitors will follow suit.

Peter Thompson, director of Barfoot & Thompson, says Wednesday's auction room was busy and properties fetched prices above the reserve. "People are starting to think, 'is it the time to start buying or not', rather than 'don't even look'."

Real estate agents contacted by the Herald on Sunday expect sales to climb over winter. They recommend first-home buyers start hunting for good deals now as they will be closely tailed by investors lured out of hiding by sliding interest rates.

More here .

[macfod]

Nice Idea MB,
But having had our surrey house empty and on the market even after dropping the price 15% it remains FOR SALE.
And we are paying council tax now to annoy us more so it could be back to renting it...at least its not empty and we get some funding.

We did wont to buy another property here now but maybe with the Kiwi dollar still strong its a bit of a blessing...

There are certainly some deals over here....chicken and egg I cry

[MotherBear]

House prices may fall 7pc in year - Treasury
3:39PM Thursday May 22, 2008
By Anne Gibson

Falling house prices could make homeowners feel a lot poorer and might mean they spend much less in future.

Treasury has examined the risks of our roller-coaster residential ride coming to an end and reckons tougher times are ahead.

New Zealanders could slash discretionary spending on items like new flat-screen TV or the latest home computer if the Government's leading advisor on economic and financial issues is right.

In budget documents out yesterday, Treasury released its forecast of house prices saying they could drop 7 per cent by March 2009.

But it warned the decline could be more drastic because net migration could be lower than forecast and debt servicing might become more difficult if there was further turmoil in financial markets.

More here .

[MotherBear]

House sale stats - prices now back to a year ago
Page 1 of 2 ...... Updated 2:55PM Wednesday June 11, 2008

Property prices are now where they were a year ago, with house prices falling in eight out of 12 districts in May, says the Real Estate Institute.

Latest figures released by the institute show that national median prices fell 1.42 per cent from a year ago at $345,000.

REINZ National President Murray Cleland described the market as 'treading water' and showing signs of levelling off from what had earlier looked like an unpleasant trend.

Sales fell from 4,464 in April to 4,373 in May, down 52.9 per cent on May last year. The sales downturn was most pronounced in the north of the country.

But one bank economist, the ASB's Nick Tuffley, say the figures point to prospects of further price falls.

More here.