It became just slightly easier for aspiring first home buyers to get into a home of their own in May, as the benefits of falling house prices at the bottom of the market marginally outweighed the effects of rising interest rates. According to Interest.co.nz's Home Loan Affordability Report for May, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand's national lower quartile selling price declined to $628,000 in...
1. First impressions count! Most buyers will have made a decision about your home within a few seconds of standing outside your front door. Essential things to do include tidying the front garden, mowing the kerb lawn, painting the front door or window sills if looking a bit tired, planting easily maintained flowers and plants, and trimming back any hedges. Make...
There has been an update of the Privacy Laws and compliance monitoring program by the Office of Privacy Commission. It is intended to ensure Landlords and Property Managers are acting in accordance with the Privacy Act. What you can and can’t ask tenants While it had been signalled earlier in the year with online discussion around ‘bad tenant blacklists’, the Privacy Commission has now come...
While the media focuses on “hikes” to the OCR which only affect floating interest rates and short term fixed rates like 6 months and 1 year, the longer-term fixed rates of 2, 3 & 5 years have steadily risen over the past 6 months. This is primarily because the longer-term rates are funded through the bond market and offshore money markets in the USA and Europe. We were also quick to forget...
The right time to sell your property is when you have something better to do with the money. You might choose to sell an investment property to free up cash for your retirement. Or to buy that motorhome you've always wanted. Maybe you plan to shift to a cheaper town and work remotely, so you can reduce your mortgage or remove it completely. Maybe you want to start a business and chase that...
With the new regulations now in full effect, we are definitely needing to find every dollar possible for our clients in this changing market. Most of the major banks have increased their “ test” rates lately which is the rate they calculate a client's ability to afford a mortgage. Even though the interest rates are currently around the 4% mark, the banks will actually calculate affordability of a...
One thing stronger than our fear of missing out is our fear of making a bad decision. Have you ever experienced paralysis by analysis over something as simple as buying a vacuum cleaner? Or a TV? If you are anything like me, you need to consider every possible option before you make a final decision.This ramps up exponentially when it comes to buying property. Especially when you add in constant...
A dry home is a healthy home. Plus, when your home is dry it is easier to heat, which means it's a more comfortable place to live. It can also save you money on your power bill since your heaters won't have to work so hard to keep you nice and cosy. Follow these 5 simple tips to keep your home dry, warm and healthy: Don't fall for all the shiny things When you start looking at properties to...
I promise you; this is not the page where I convince you that you must sell with me right now, this moment, today and I will be your agent for life (although that part is true). No. This is the page where you can hear directly from the best in the business as to what's happening in the market. Let's get the facts and hear what Chief Economist at Ray White, Nerida Conisbee has to say about it:...
You can feel it can't you..as soon as you walk into someone's home you either feel that instant feeling of relaxation where you want to kick your heels off and never leave, or you are too scared to touch anything and cant wait to get the hell out of there. Shockingly, it's not about the latest trends or what you see on Instagram that should shape our Colour Palette. I know? Crazy, right?! Who...