Property News

Weak Retail Spending but Migration Improving - 26/08/2008
We have learnt very little that is new about the New Zealand economy over the past week. On Friday we got confirmation of weakness in retail spending although the 0.7% decline in the seasonally adjusted volume of spending excluding the automotive sectors was slightly better than expected....

Widespread Expectations of Price Declines - 26/08/2008
This week the quarterly Housing Intentions survey by ASB indicated that more people are starting to feel it is a good time to buy a house but it seems only because they believe there could be lots of bargains out there....

Interest Rates - 19/08/2008
In the absence of any major data releases there has been practically no movement in wholesale interest rates over the past week and even the fall of the Kiwi dollar which for a while became quite rapid yesterday has not had much impact...

Property values continue to decline - 19/08/2008
QV's July statistics for the residential property market report a 2.2% decline in national property values over the past year, down on the 0.1% growth reported in June. The average New Zealand sale price stayed steady at $393,370...

Rents Barely Rising - 24/07/2008
The Consumers Price Index released this week by Statistics New Zealand shows that on average rents around New Zealand rose by just 0.7% during the June quarter...

Property downturn? Not for this $7m house - 20/07/2008
A luxury Waiheke Island property put up for mortgagee tender has sold for nearly $3 million over its present valuation. The three-bedroom house on 12ha of secluded land at Matiatia was valued at $4.2m but bought by a Melbourne-based...

Six out of seven - sales defy the trend - 30/06/2008
An Auckland apartment auction last week sold six out of seven units, bucking the recent trend in which many properties are handed in. Only a Sebel studio leased to the hotel was passed in. That Viaduct unit was under conditional...

Investors on bargain buying spree - 29/06/2008
Canny, cashed-up property investors are already scooping the bargain buying while prospective homebuyers procrastinate, hoping for further price falls. "The seasoned, cashed-up property investors are ready to re-enter the market...

Home buyers wait as sales stay low - 17/06/2008
A "staring competition" between buyers and sellers is stalling house sales, says the head of one of New Zealand's biggest real estate chains. Real Estate Institute figures out yesterday showed fewer than half the number of houses...

Mortgagee listings jump outside Auckland - 17/06/2008
The slump in the housing market is now rippling out beyond Auckland into the smaller cities, data from the latest interest.co.nz survey of mortgagee listings show. Total mortgagee listings hit a record 332 by Monday June 16, up...

Home buyers wait as sales stay low - 12/06/2008
A "staring competition" between buyers and sellers is stalling house sales, says the head of one of New Zealand's biggest real estate chains. Real Estate Institute figures out yesterday showed fewer than half the number of houses...

Recession looming, warns Goldman Sachs - 14/01/2008
NEW YORK - Leading Wall St banker Goldman Sachs today said it expects the US economy to drop into recession this year, prompting the Federal Reserve to slash...

Current account deficit widens - 02/01/2008
New Zealand's current account deficit widened in the third quarter as profits earned by overseas-owned New Zealand companies increased...

Auckland Airport takeover bids played role in drafting new rules - 29/11/2007
The Government's proposal to impose strict disclosure rules on airports is partly to build confidence in pricing regimes for potential foreign buyers of Auckland International Airport...

Dairy farmers react cautiously to Fonterra's 'float' proposals - 19/11/2007
Dairy farmer reaction to Fonterra's proposal to float part of its business on the sharemarket was cautious but positive during seven meetings held nationwide yesterday...

Global financial meltdown 'not far-fetched' - 12/11/2007
NEW YORK, LONDON - Billionaire investor George Soros has given warning that the US is on the brink of
a slowdown far more ...

Airport in for 2011 World Cup revamp - 30/10/2007
The airport hopes to enhance the arrivals experience for 2011 World Cup fans. Auckland Airport has confirmed ...

Rocketing oil prices won't bring country to its knees - 23/10/2007
Petrol prices are tipped to hit $1.66 a litre. Record oil prices are adding to the headwinds consumers have to battle...

Coronet Peak skifield to get $20m makeover - 15/10/2007
Queenstown's Coronet Peak skifield is to get a $20 million makeover, making it part of a rush of investment in New Zealand's ski industry...

Brakes go on - big dive in house sales - 08/10/2007
Economists say the market is slowing considerably. New Zealand's biggest housing market is in the grip of a
slowdown...

High times picked for listed trusts - 02/08/2007
The listed property sector is doing well, its buildings are full and those wanting income-focused defensive equities should consider buying...

Auckland property prices continue to rise - 08/06/2007
An Auckland real estate company said property prices continued to rise in May despite recent interest rate rises...

Hitting the high notes - for now - 21/05/2007
The current economic upswing will not be sustained, the Treasury says, and it has halved its growth forecast for next year, confident that high interest rates and flattening house prices will - eventually - sap the enthusiasm of consumers...

Getting a consent takes longer than building - 03/05/2007
It is ridiculous that government red tape means it now takes longer to get consent to build a house than to actually build it, says National's Building spokesman, Dr Nick Smith...

Thinking bigger on apartment design - 30/04/2007
Developers can no longer build cramped 'shoebox' apartments under sweeping new urban design measures. The days of poky apartments are over in central Auckland with the introduction of strict new design rules, including minimum apartment sizes...

Property investors' confidence firm despite warnings - 20/04/2007
Property investors are ignoring talk of a housing bubble and are still confident that prices will continue to rise. Only 2 per cent of 453 respondents in the annual ANZ Bank's...

Universal Homes' Chatham Hill on the Market Nationwide - 07/03/2007
With the appeal of its superb, nautical-themed homes at Chatham Hill, Gulf Harbour, proving to be far more widespread than anticipated, Universal Homes has given the job of marketing the development to influential national real estate company, Bayley's...