I have never been the fortunate owner of a crystal ball, yet I am constantly asked “what are interest rates going to do over the next couple of years." The reality is I don’t know and nobody genuinely does. People far more learned than I in the area of economics provide any prediction with a cav...
The rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation is sending instant shockwaves through world economies and health systems and the fallout will have longer term impacts on the New Zealand economy and housing market. We look at the situation this far and analyse the key impacts and the response. COVID-19 ha...
The World Health Organization’s declaration of a coronavirus pandemic has seen the economic crisis associated with COVID-19 ramp up to a whole new level, with a global recession seen as a near certainty. The surprise announcement of the Reserve Bank to cut the official cash rate to 0.25% for a ...
The housing market has continued its strong momentum from 2019, with Auckland finally arriving at the party to join the rest of the country. However despite The Reserve Bank’s recent confidence that the economic effects of the coronavirus will be short-lived, there is a danger some NZ property ma...
The announcement that the election will be held on 19 September has signaled the start of the campaign trail. The relentless electioneering has started and the coming months will be dominated with claim and counterclaim about past achievements or lack of and policy direction for the future.
The property market continued to pick up steam during the year to finish the decade with a roar. Buoyed by low interest rates and squeezed by shortage of housing stock, the end of 2019 was marked by very strong price growth in regional markets and Auckland emerging from its slumber. Price records...
I get an influx of clients with optimism and determination booking appointments at the start of every year. They plan to buy an investment property, or help get kids into their first property, and couples start getting serious about a first home purchase. You are likely to get the same sort of en...
The year finished with a good head of steam building in the housing market, and many homeowners no doubt appreciated the feeling of increasing property values as they went about their Christmas shopping. However on the other side of the coin, price pressure on would be home buyers continues to in...
Expectations of an increase in house prices bring early Christmas cheer as festive season approaches. Positivity returning to the property market will be a welcome stocking stuffer for homeowners and retailers alike, however this news won’t be as well received by aspiring first owners yet to g...
Could your daily coffee fix be stopping you owning your own home? The game has changed: Six items banks are keeping a closer eye on when assessing your loan application.
In the interests of making sure customers are on top of their tax obligations in relation to assets and income, in New Zealand and abroad we checked in with Daniel Gibbons; a property tax specialist to get some background around the recent IRD activity in this space and some tips for keeping out ...
It's good news for borrowers this month with the competitive interest rate environment continuing to offer some great deals. Buyers are also showing some signs of life as we roll through spring with sales volumes rebounding. This is being supported by the low rates, an undersupply of housing in s...
Along with how much can I borrow the number one question we get asked is how much deposit do I need to get into the home I want? The answer varies for a large number of reasons and with January's Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) restriction changes and the KiwiBuild reset we felt it was a good time to g...
