This month we're talking about what’s affecting the New Zealand market from both outside of New Zealand, and around the world. And also, what’s happening between the Auckland market and the regional market.
We’ll be talking about what to do if you’re thinking about selling your property and what to do if you’re thinking about buying, so let’s get into it.
One of the key drivers in the current market in New Zealand and something that is talked about a lot is the net migration figures, so we’ll just have a little look at what’s affecting those right now, with things like the Brexit and the United States elections, a lot of people are talking about New Zealand as a safe, clean place to live, and of course with a really strong economy at the moment.
People are making the choice not only to come here and live, but people who already live here who would otherwise have decided to move, say to Australia or somewhere else, are actually now making that decision to stay in New Zealand. And it’s these increasing population figures that are one of the key drivers to our housing problem, or market as we call it, today.
One of the effects of the expanding population and the ever-increasing demand on houses and house prices going up is the effect that it’s having on rental properties, you as a landlord may be looking at the value of your property, and considering a rental increase, as a tenant you’re probably starting to see notices coming from your property manager or your landlord, increasing your rent. And while incomes across New Zealand and the average wage are not keeping up with this, the demand of the housing market is certainly putting pressure on rental prices.
As we mentioned last month, we said there could be a rule change coming from the government, well within days exactly that happened and the government have now announced a new 40% loan-to-value ratio across the country, you might be asking “What is that going to do to the property market?” Well, if we look back at the last 2 times that this happened it typically slowed the market down but only for 2 or 3 months, and this would be our exact expectation for this point in the market, you may see a little bit of a slow down but we’ll certainly play catch-up probably by the end of the year and certainly into the new year.
If you’re an investor, now might be a great time to look at your portfolio and consider the properties that have got some work or some maintenance that are coming up, there are first home buyers on the market now looking out to buy properties that need a bit of work so that they can get onto the property ladder, they don’t mind a do-up so now would be a good time before the spring rush, to get your investment property onto the market.
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