Real Estate Agents….. Well most think that they can be done without but when it comes to seeling your house most of us although we dont like to agree with it couldnt have done without our agent. Now you will probably agree with me more if you had a good agent. This like in any…
Category: Real Estate
June 2009 – OCR remains bottomed out at 2.5% – Is This The Turning Point?
The New Zealand economy has been on a downward spiral along with global economies since 2007. Butmany believe that we in New Zealand have reached a turning point. In terms of New Zealands Official Cash Rate I believe we have hit the bottom of the line. It started in June last year when the Official Cash…
Christchurch QV May Statistics With New Zealand Market Comment
Christhchurch Property Trends Property values in Christchurch declined by 8.1% over the past year (calculated over the three months ending May 2009 in comparison to the same period last year), an improvement on the 9.6% annual decline reported in April. The average sale price for the city decreased slightly from $342,929 to $339,695. These annual…
Do You Actually Believe We Have Hit The Bottom Of The Market?
Well if you do I believe your being naive. There has been in the months of late a definite pick up in the market especially in the terms of sales volume which one could almost think that a bounce back is happening. There has been great activity, a lot of sales and new buyers emerging…
Home Hints – What Way Should I Sell My Home?
1. by offer and negotiation 2. by auction 3. by tender. Most people sell through an agent, but private sales are becoming more common. 1. Selling by offer and negotiation Most homes are still sold this way. You set an asking price, put your home on the market and if a buyer is interested they…
Home Hints – How Do I Decide What To Sell My Home For
It’s important to do your homework before you decide on the asking price for your home. There are several sources of information you can use to work out what your home might sell for. Your rateable value The rateable value (RV) provided by your local authority is not necessarily a good guide to what your…
Home Hints – Should I Sell It, Do It Up Or Rent It?
What are your options? Before you decide to sell, here are a few things to think about first could you get the home you want by renovating or extending instead? how much more will you have to pay to get the home you want – can you afford it? would it be a good idea…
The State of Real Estate Around the World: No Signs of Stabilization
Our Housing marketis in worse shape than Australia’s but is also likely to avoid as deep a correction as in the U.S. and Europe. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut 575bp since July 2008 to 2.5% in April 2009 but longer-term, fixed mortgage rates have recently begun to rise again due to expectations…
Home Hints – What Legal Stuff Needs To Be Done
Your lawyer’s job is to protect you by checking contracts, explaining your rights, and making sure the property’s title is in order. They also do the legal work to transfer the property to you (the conveyancing) and register your mortgage on the property title. They’ll provide advice on things like different ways to own the…
Home Hints – Getting That Loan
Buying a home is a big financial commitment and is going to impact your life for a good part of your adult life. And usually we don’t have enough money to go out and buy a home. So we need to finance this. What’s this? It’s a loan. When you buy a home you usually…
Home Hints – What Do I Do When I Want To Buy My Home In New Zealand
Well by now hopefully you have chosen what you want. Done your research and found what you need to find and are able to make an educated decision when it comes to buying your home. There are three main ways to buy a home 1. by offer and negotiation – you make an offer and…
Home Hints – Things You Need To Look Out For Before Buying Your Home
When you have decided on a house you need to take a good look at it and make sure that you are going to be buying it in a reasonable condition (do a building inspection) – this is where every dollar counts because there are some things that can be a disaster for you…
Home Hints – What Are The Things To Keep In Mind When Buying Property
Once you’ve found a home you’re interested in you’ll want to check it out carefully. It really is a case of buyer beware. You don’t want to end up with a lemon, or costs you hadn’t planned for. Here are some ways you can check out the place you’re interested in. 1. Check the…
Home Hints – Where Do You Start When Looking To Buy Real Estate In New Zealand
How do you find a home? Once you know what you want and can afford, you want to get a ‘feel’ for the market. You could start by • searching the Internet – try trademe.co.nz or realestate.co.nz • reading the papers – weekend papers often have lots of adverts • driving around areas you…
Home Hints – How Much Can You Afford?
How much can you borrow? The amount you can borrow depends on • the value of the home you want to buy • how much equity or deposit you have to contribute • how much you can afford to pay towards your loan. These things all need to balance, so if you can afford a…
Home Hints – What Type Of House Do You Want To Live In
After you think about the area you want to live in you need to decide what type of home you want to live in. Sometimes this can change the area you will need to look in so you need to get this step sorted out relatively early so that you can get it right so…
Home Hints – Where Do You Want To Live?
By now if you’re looking to buy a property you will have been told about the saying, Location, Location, Location. But why do people go on about this so much? Why is it so important? Well your home is one of the biggest assets most people will ever buy in their lives. It is therefore…
Has The Recession Hit!
I am not going to harp on about any statistics or any comments made by the so called experts. All I would like to see here is a real discussion on what you actually think and what your actually seeing out there on the streets. For several months now I have speaking directly to business…
Reserve Bank Of New Zealand Lowers OCR To 2.5% April 30 2009
New Zealands Official Cash Rate has been cut again to 2.5% which is a further sign that the Reserve Bank is trying to stimulate the economy. Dr Alan Bollard this morning said to the people that he sees the Official Cash Rate being low for around the next 18 months as the economy is finding…
March 2009 QV Statistics And New Zealands Housing Sales Volume
Christchurch This is the latest Press Release from QV. Property values in Christchurch decreased by 9.7% over the last year (calculated over the three months ending March 2009 in comparison to the same period last year), deteriorating further from the 9.1% annual decline reported in February. The average sale price for the city increased slightly…
Points To Consider When Looking To Build A Green (Eco) Home.
Financially as well as environmentally, if you are building your own home, it is increasingly making sense to build eco homes. Done properly, not only are there huge running cost savings to be made from an eco build, but also an element of future proofing when it comes to current value and future resale value,…
Renting vs Buying – A Personal Perspective
Many people wonder whether renting or buying a home is better decision. Most of the time, history has shown it is a smarter financial move to purchase a home than to rent. The final decision is unique to each situation of course. Here are a few points to note about both renting and buying. Buying…
Westpac The First New Zealand Bank To Give New Zealanders A Mortgage Holiday
Finally there seems to be a little relief for those who are becoming financially stressed by this global economic downturn. Westpac is the first bank in New Zealand to follow Australia’s lead and offer 12-month mortgage holidays.The decision is part of the bank’s new set of measures to help financially stressed customers. Australia’s biggest banks…
Mortgage Applications Rise Upwards
Here is an interesting article from the Herald Website: Baby boomers are returning to the housing market in droves – but younger first home buyers are still doing it tough. Mortgage applications last month were up 38 per cent compared to the same month last year, and were the highest monthly total since November 2007….
What is Sustainable Housing – Or A "Green House"
Over the next few weeks I will be talking about the new craze thats hitting the world and that is “GOING GREEN”. With so mnay of us concerned about global warming and how we are now impacting our planet by the day to day running of our lives it is important to note a few…
New Zealand Economic Overview March 2009
Summery of New Zealands economy for the quarter March 2009 The NZ economy is yet to find a base. Business confidence surveys are either at, or near, historical lows. Employment intentions are tumbling and investment plans are being shelved. Corporate tax revenue – a key timely indicator of economic activity – has capitulated. Consumer sentiment…
Building Consents Rise As The Last Of The Summer Spend Ups Occur – Winter Is On The Way!
This is an interesting article from the Herald Website which is further indicating that the market could be improving. My honest opinion is that the facts below are just the spike that naturally occurs at this time of year. The numbers we are experiencing are well below what we have known for many years. Our…
April 1st Tax Cuts Loom – How Much Extra Will This Mean For You?
The short answer is that for people on the average wage of $48,500 a year will get an extra $15.66 a week and those on $100,000 will benefit by $18.46 according ti Bill English and his Tax Cut plan. From Wednesday when the tax cuts roll out people will have a little extra money in…
Mortgagee Sales are up – Whats happening out there?
Today I read a very interesting article on stuff.co.nz about an Auction that a good friend of mine Roland Lina conducted last night in New Plymouth. It highlights a good point about what is happening in the market. The article reads as follows. Three words are dominating Taranaki’s real estate pages “sell, sell, sell”. As…
Home Staging and its Importance in Todays Market
If you are one of the tens of thousands of homeowners attempting to sell your home at any one time now then you know how hard it is becoming to both get people to the home and once there get them to like it enough to put an offer on it. You will have been undoubtedly been…