Auckland’s property values are now above the 2007 peak, with growing numbers of property investors being attracted back into the market. QV’s residential property index for November stated that two well known property investment groups are back in the Auckland property market.

Glenda Whitehead from QV Valuations said “Investors are starting to come back to the market”. Regarding what action these investors plan to take, Whitehead said they are “looking to buy, upgrade and on-sell at a healthy profit”. The other majority “require a definite positive cash flow return”.

The current Auckland property market sits at 0.6% above the 2007 market peak which can be attributed to increased activity from first time home buyers, and property investors.

Old Auckland City has seen the greatest increase in value, which is up 4.7% this year (2.5% above the 2007 peak).

Jonno Ingerson, research director at QV emphasised that values have been increasing not only in Auckland but on a nationwide scale, “values have now begun to increase across the rest of the main centre’s, as well as in many of the provincial and rural towns. New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington has also shown growth and continues to show signs of positivity.

There are positive signs in both Hamilton and Tauranga in recent months, although still sitting below the 2007 market peak, the Christmas and the New Year surge should help build stability for these cities.

The demand for ‘undamaged houses’ in Christchurch has strengthened the property market, pushing values up 3.6% from last year, and only 1.7 below the 2007 market peak. Christchurch’s surrounding districts Waimakariri and Selwyn are well above the previous market peak, and have increased 6.9% and 5.3% in values respectively.

Ingerson also mentioned the encouraging activity due to happen over the month of December in the build up to Christmas. He also pointed out “the strength of this activity will depend to some extent on how economic events pan out in Europe”.

Nelson and Dunedin have also seen growth in the last three months, with Dunedin increasing 2.4% and Nelson 3.2%.

In the year leading up to June 2011, New Zealand saw an increase of the average weekly rent by 7.4%. Rent payments were also increased to 35% of all New Zealand households.

The data from Statistics New Zealand’s Household Economic Survey found that in the two years leading up to June 2011, those spending roughly a third of their income on housing increased from 19.5% to 21.8%. Those living in rental housing in New Zealand also saw an increase from 33.8% to 39.1%.

The survey discovered that rental accommodation saw an increase in rent by 7.4% in 2010/11 compared to average rental income in 2009/10. This is an increase following a trend seen in 2009/10 of a 6.6% rent increase to that of 2008/09.

There was 5% increase in households paying rent more than $300 a week, from 33% in 09/10 up to 38% of households in 10/11.

The survey also showed an increase in average household income by $2,575 from $76,584 in June 2010 to $79,159 in the year ended June 2011.

The trends seen in Statistics New Zealand’s survey can have some attribution to the growing property market in New Zealand. With high demand in rental properties across New Zealand, notably Auckland and Wellington who have experienced an increase in rental housing demand up to 30%. We can expect to see rent to go up in these major cities, where New Zealand property investors will take advantage of the growing demand and strengthening property market.

Ref: landlords.co.nz

In the Mercer global quality living survey Auckland has moved up one spot, from fourth in 2010 to the world’s third most livable city.

Auckland was topped by Zurich and Vienna. Other large scale cities in the rankings included Sydney that came 11th and New Zealand’s capital city Wellington ranking a well deserved 13th in Mercer’s global survey.

Mayor of Auckland Len Brown is aiming for No.1 in future years, believing his city is ‘well on track’ to potentially becoming the world’s most livable city.

Mr. Brown was also pleased at the positive global profile that international rankings like this give Auckland and New Zealand. “This is a fantastic city to live in” said Brown.

Brown also emphasised the achievement of moving up on the scale, and that it was “no small feat”. Brown was positive Auckland has more room to improve, and will be “celebrating our place at the top” on the day Auckland reaches No.1.

The ranking system decided through Mercer’s global survey, is known as a thoroughly examined process of evaluating 221 cities by 39 categories. These include medical and health stability, political situation, socio-economical environment, transport, natural environment, education and housing among many. New York City was used as the ‘base city’ used to make comparisons.

This recognition paints a positive picture for the international sector wanting to live in New Zealand. It is also an indication of the growing property market with many foreigners investing in New Zealand property due to the increase in demand and the appeal of the country itself.

Ref: tvnz.co.nz

In recent years Britain has seen the economy take a turn for the worst. With unemployment continuing to rise, and ongoing business insecurity has resulted in a record number of enquires for those wanting to move to both New Zealand and Australia.

The Overseas Guides Company has seen requests for Australia up 160%, but it was New Zealand that had an overwhelming surge in requests with a staggering 735% increase from the last quarter.  Overseas Guides Company editor, Richard Way said “it’s not surprising” referring to the increase in interest to purchase property in New Zealand and Australia, which is related to the soaring numbers wanting to immigrate ‘down under’ in recent months.

A portion of interest could be attributed to popularity of the Rugby World Cup help in New Zealand during September and October of this year where New Zealand showcased the beauty of the country, and put their best foot forward.   However a lot of enquires can be related to the downfall of the European economy, on the brink of another recession. With fewer opportunities it’s understandable that amount of young Britons looking to work abroad in Australia and New Zealand. The process of immigrating to these countries has now become easier.

Ref: stuff.co.nz

New Zealand is currently facing a housing shortage of approximately 45,000 homes. Bank of New Zealand’s Tony Alexander says there will need to be some extreme changes in New Zealand’s property sector and building code over the next few years if the Government is to help the shortage. But one thing is clear that property values look to increase, and property owners should experience increased valuations of their homes.

Alexander said that no matter what polices the government put in place to try and increase housing supply, the market will not be able to supply the amount of housing needed, putting more pressure on property prices. He also believes the shortage would be around for “a number a years.”

Alexander credited the property shortage to a number of factors including a reducing building trade in New Zealand including the introduction of builders being licensed next year. It’s also becoming more challenging to get finance for new subdivisions; New Zealand has an ageing population, and the current economic situation is adding to the process of purchasing property and household decisions.

The housing shortage will also result in New Zealand property investors sitting tight on their current investments, and will be looking to increase their portfolio before property prices reach even higher levels.  Property investors should look to capitalise on the current market situation.

Ref: interest.co.nz

Education, income and health were assessed in the annual Human Development Index (HDI) released by the United Nations Development Program that ranks New Zealand 5th in the world. The index evaluated the standard of living, population access to knowledge and population chance of living a long and healthy life for 187 different countries. New Zealand is considered to have “very high human development” among other countries.

Nations that lead the HDI were Norway, Australia and Netherlands among other countries in the top ten included Ireland, Germany, United States, Sweden, Canada and Liechtenstein. Some of the wealthier nations did drop down in the HDI’s rankings once adjusted for internal inequalities in education, health and income. These included the United States, Israel and the Republic of Korea.

Chief statistician for the HDI, Milorad Kovacevic said “The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index helps us assess better the levels of development for all segments of society, rather than for just the mythical ‘average’ person,”. New Zealand achieved a high HDI value of 0.908 for 2011 and considered in the high human development category. Australia and Ireland were to closest nations to New Zealand in terms of HDI rank and population size.

Ref: stuff.co.nz

Queenstown and the Southern Lakes have been named Lonely Planet’s top 10 regions to visit in 2012. Lake Wanaka, Fiordland and Queenstown are number 8 on list of The Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2012 Guide.

This exciting announcement will enhance the exposure of New Zealand’s beautiful scenery in the South Island, and is the only New Zealand district in the book. Tony Everitt Destination Queenstown CEO said recognition on a global scale is expected from the book which lists the best journeys, destinations and experiences for 2012. He also said that it is “priceless” being associated with such a highly regarded travel book, and will enthuse tourists to visit these regions.

Sarah Bennett the Lonely Planet spokesperson in New Zealand was hardly surprised at the announcement. “Jaw dropping, breathtaking, stunning and exhilarating” are all words that are overused in the tourism industry she said, but the regions mentioned in the Lonely Planet book deserve all the credit.

The rental market is becoming more competitive in some of the major cities around New Zealand with rental property listing significantly down according to Trade Me Property, one of New Zealand’s largest properties listing websites. Auckland listings are down 13 percent, Christchurch 27 percent and more notably Wellington rental property listings down 30 percent compared to this time a year ago.

As result rental prices have increased, at this stage landlords are only asking for a modest 6 percent increase, but looks to go up in the future. Due to demand for rental property outweighing the supply, the tight market indicates tenants are expected to pay more for rental properties and have tougher competition for houses in Wellington and other affected areas.

Advertising is also down 7 percent on Trade Me Properties, another sign that landlords can save money on advertising their property due to the high demand, with enquires for Wellington property up 23 percent on Trade Me Properties.

The positive from this is people who have New Zealand property investments in these major cities can expect an increase in return from their investment, and more importantly a stronger guarantee that their property investment will be showing a consistent return due to the high demand.
Ref: The Dominion Post

New Zealand has the top ranking for protecting investors as a result of the ‘Doing Business Project’ by the World Bank in June 2010. ‘This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain’. From 183 countries in the study Singapore was ranked 2nd, and other major economies such as The United States was ranked 5th and our neighboring country Australia was ranked 59th.

This is just another reason why to choose New Zealand when thinking about your next investment opportunity.

ref: www.doingbusiness.org

Latest research from Quotable Value has revealed that property values on a national scale have continued to increase with Auckland and Queenstown leading the way. New Zealand property investment opportunities should be taken advantage of with supply low in Auckland and Queenstown, pushing prices up in these cities.

Since January 2011 Auckland property values have increased 2.8% and are now 2.2% above the same period of last year.  Auckland City has shown the fastest increase, 3.0% in the last year. Since the market peak in 2007 Auckland City has seen a 1.5% increase in values since that period. The North Shore district of Auckland has seen a 2.4% increase over the past year, and other districts such as Waitakere and Manukau just over 1%.

Properties on the Auckland market are selling fast and for a good price, in many situations selling for the upper end of the value range and as we come into spring it will not be surprising to see more properties being listed. Central Auckland properties are selling strongly, with many also selling above expectation at property auctions. This is a result of a real estate market with high demand so any property opportunity whether it is investment or lifestyle, needs be snapped up quickly. In August the average property price in Auckland was $532,296 NZD.

Property values in Queenstown have increased 3.5% since this time last year, which is also having a significant impact on New Zealand’s increase in overall property values. With the Rugby World Cup currently in New Zealand, close to 100,000 international visitors are expected to arrive for this tournament alone. This will impact the national property market with an increase in demand for residential, lifestyle and investment properties for many of these visiting tourists. Opportunities in New Zealand should be seized with a growing property market, and what appears to be an even faster growing demand for this market.

ref: www.qv.co.nz