09 December 2011

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%.

1 December, 2011

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

6 October 2011

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

5 October 2011

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

26 July, 2011

Crockers research said the market is stronger than it has been for some time, compared with 2010. At 11,311, sales numbers for the first six months of the year are at their highest since 2007, and the June 11 figure is 27% higher than the 10,305 sales closed in the same month last year.

Similarly, the median sales price is up 3.6% on last June, the strongest house price inflation since 2007.

The movement is greater in Auckland than the rest of New Zealand, where the median sales price is up 2.1% on last year (to $360,000) and the number of sales closed is up 14% compared to last year (to 5229), Crockers said.

Rentals in the Auckland two-bedroom market have been stable for the past three months at about $365 per week, just over 20% higher than the average for the rest of New Zealand.

The three-bedroom market has also stayed steady over the past three months, following significant rises in the earlier part of the year off a January low. In June the average rental price was $486 per week, 30% higher than the national average of about $350 a week.

Crockers suggests that with the Auckland property market strengthening this year, “it’s worth taking another look at Auckland versus the other metropolitan centres, in terms of the relative returns rental properties offer.”

ref: nbr.co.nz