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An interesting trend coming out of Australia is the growing number of landlords who promote their rental properties as being “Pet Friendly”. Clever thinking when you realize that over 60% of households have at least one pet.

Weekly rental costs are a little higher to take care of cleaning etc but it seems these homes are rented out fastest when tenants move on, such is the demand.

Look out for First National launching “Pet Friendly” listings before the end of the year.

If you are a landlord who would like to take advantage of this untapped market, ensure you speak with your First National property Manager now.

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It’s all been said these past few days as the country comes to terms with New Zealand’s largest natural disaster ever. More properties damaged, more workplaces debilitated, more roads and overall infrastructure destroyed in the area than in any single event in our history. Over 450,000 people are directly impacted by the event. To complete the rebuild will take years.

What do the happenings around 4.33am Saturday 4th September tell us? Messages out of the Garden City suggest that even the best prepared, floundered. The water containers they had set aside for a disaster were stale, or empty. The batteries in the torches were flat and replacements flew off somewhere else in the event.
Candles were dangerous as fears of gas leaks prevailed. Food set aside for such eventualities had been consumed as extras arrived at the households over the months.

Above all, the impact of the first quake threw even the best plans into the rubble and challenged those less prepared. In the days since though, those who were in the heaviest hit areas but best prepared are those finding their feet fastest. Others are queuing for water, food, household stores and implements.

So what do we do? Our advice… get the telephone book out, find the pages on Civil Defence advice and get prepared. If it’s not a quake, as people in the Wairarapa found out in the days after the quake, it could be flooding or wind damage that limits life as we know it in any part of the country. Be Prepared!

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For those in the current position of seeking work, who are involved (or would like to be involved) in the construction allied sectors, building supplies, heavy machinery and transport, valuation and planning sectors and more … all will benefit from the huge demands the resurrection of Christchurch will require.

Rough estimates from Treasury indicate that direct costs to repair the broken province will be $2 Billion. History suggests the final figure will be double that. And the fiscal soothsayers have always said that a healthy building industry delivers work to the entire economy.

So what does this mean? It means quite simply that through Canterbury’s destruction, the rest of NZ is going to get very, very busy – the weekend’s quake is more than likely going to be the single largest driver of economic recovery seen in NZ in a very long time.

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We’ve said it before, but tenants, on average, are seeking more comfort for their dollar these days and after such a long wet winter it seems those demands will only grow. Astute landlords are reviewing insulation, water proofing, heating and décor as they compete for the attentions of discerning tenants.

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One thing we can say is that there are buyers in the wings for farms and run-offs but they remain conservative in their offers and challenged by the equity demands of lenders. Corporate buyers are less significant players in the market than in recent times.

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Good news from Dr Bollard recently! In raising the Official Cash Rate -the device that sets virtually all lending interest rates- by 0.25%, he commented that in view of the sluggish internal economy, he felt it unlikely that interest rates would rise much more in the next 18 months.

Many will now adjust to Variable or Floating rate mortgages given that Fixed Rate loans are going to feature higher interest rates.

What that means is we can budget with some certainty, while taking advantage of Variable rates under 6.5%. These Variable Rates should remain well below what most Fixed Rates have been marketed at during the past couple of years.

Other than during the extremes of last year, we haven’t seen mortgage rates this low since the 1960’s!

To keep yourself up to date with current mortgage rates across nearly all lenders (major banks, minor banks and non-bank lenders), see all rates on offer (floating, along with fixed rates from 6 months to five years), and to check and compare what you can get, go to www.mortgagerates.co.nz.
Daily mortgage rates, mortgage calculators and more.

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Once the new rules regarding depreciation on property investments were made clear in the Budget, those multiple-property owners exposed to financial stress had several months to decide and act on their response. What we are seeing already is that a proportion, certainly a minority, are quietly placing on the market those properties they believe they cannot hold once the new tax position takes effect in 2011.

Once again it has to be said that when backed by heating and insulation incentives driven by government and local authorities, some of these properties can be great opportunities for first Home Owners. Dependent upon the age and type of home and the part of the country the buyer lives, there are grants and discounts available…costs can even be tied to Rates payments over quite a number of years.

Don’t forget either, that if youngsters have a ‘KiwiSaver’ account with a few years activity, there are quite substantial additional incentives to anyone, young or not so, who are buying their first home. If you want to know more, give us a call.

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After a tough couple of years for small and medium business owners across the country, there are presently large numbers of premises available for sale in most centres… certainly many more options are available to buyers now than in previous years.

What we are seeing as a result is astute, well-founded investors purchasing well-positioned property in anticipation of the eventual lift in our economy and subsequent demand for business premises.

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Up and down the country we’re seeing a gradual increase in interest from purchasers in both the rural and lifestyle sectors, though as with all things real estate, funding can be a challenge still.

Banks remain conservative in their approach to rural mortgages, and given the constant change in world financial markets we have to expect this to continue for some time yet.

That said, a good business plan, a well-developed equity and an opportunity to further develop the property’s income sees financial support more readily attained.

And around the urban centres, we are certainly seeing a lift in enquiry for good Lifestyle properties from some fairly circumspect buyers.

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Sure, a proportion of the Tax Cuts we all receive from October, will be taken back in the 2.5% increase in GST, but advice we’re receiving from economists is that we should put any residual funds to good use.

And what’s good use mean?

Well, savings, paying off credit cards and other loans…and yes, even using it toward a mortgage that will allow that long-hoped-for home upgrade. Whatever is your preference, “…don’t waste the opportunity to put any spare funds to good use…” seems to be the message.

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