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This comment is from Westpac’s chief economist Brendan O’Donovan Building new houses is going to be the result of there not being enough existing housing for sale to meet the huge demand.
Net permanent/long term migration to New Zealand rose to a five year high in the year to August 2009 as departures from New Zealand continued to drop. Economists say the boost in net migration, a shortage of quality housing for sale and low building consent levels will drive house prices higher.
To put it another way, the grass is no longer considered greener on the other side so kiwis are settling down here in the land of their birth. Departures this year to August were down nearly 10,000 from the year ended August 2008, while arrivals were up by 790. This lead to 15,600 net permanent and long term arrivals to New Zealand (about 5,000 families), the highest annual total since the year ended November 2004, according to Statistics New Zealand. This was more than triple the same amount in the year to August 2008.
However, this goes against the hopes of the Reserve Bank and Treasury, who want any recovery to be export-led. The conclusion is that housing will rise in value again. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand

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While most don’t buy lifestyle blocks as a business, there are literally hundreds of ways to profit from such a property. They include: running classes in craft making, horse riding, leasing out part of it to neighbouring farmers, renting it as an event location, healing services, running a rural cafe, a rural setting B&B, tourism visits to be photographed with a lamb.
Those are the obvious ones, but due to the internet, many businesses can be run from home now, so virtually any office based activity can be operated from your small block as well. The clear advantage is the wonderful rural outlook rather than concrete and cars.

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What has Napoleon got to do with NZ? Lots! This country was settled in the early part of the 19th century, which was shortly after the Napoleonic Wars. Still fresh in the minds of the settlers, many places are named after victorious British Generals.
Wellington is named after Lord Wellington, the overall commander of British forces. Then there are General Sir Charles Napier, Lt-General Sir Thomas Picton, General Lord Palmerston, Major-General Randoll Mackenzie and Major-General Sir William Ponsonby.

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Professor Paul Anglin, a real estate economist in Ontario, Canada, says that homes described as “beautiful” in real-estate advertising sell for up to 5% more. It turns out that the right phrasing in real-estate listings can speed a sale and even boost the final price, according to his study, which examined 20,000 listings.
Listings with the words “beautiful” or “gorgeous” in the description sold 15% faster. “Landscaped” hastened a sale by 20%. Interestingly, calling a home a “handyman special” cut sale time by half. “Must see” had virtually no effect on the time before a sale.
The kiss of death appears to be language that reeks of desperation – words such as “motivated” and “must sell.” These slowed sales by 30%. Surprisingly, properties described as “rentals” or “income-producing” took 60% longer to sell – probably because they put home owners off.
While this was a Canadian study, there are certainly lessons in it, so we can word your ads for you appropriately.

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You will have heard the saying, ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression’. This is very true for selling houses as well. Many potential buyers make up their minds within seconds of walking through the door.
So it makes sense to get this part of the house looking great. The entrance area should generate some excitement, drama and style. Create a focal point with an oversized mirror, a dramatic piece of art, lighting a key feature, fresh flowers, a chair or small pieces of furniture – but not all at once. Add drama, not comedy.

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The number 1 goal of most kiwis is to reduce debt. The ‘trick’ is to mange it. Here are a few tips that could save you thousands:

FIRST, list all your debts in order of SIZE. Ignore interest rates. Pay them off in order of smallest to biggest by directing all spare money to the smallest and then the next one and so on. This way you see quick progress and will be encouraged to continue. SECOND, if you have savings (apart from a small emergency fund) use it to pay off debt. Why earn 3% when paying 23% on a credit card?!?

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The kids’ bedrooms will always look disastrous just when you are trying to sell. Kids have loads of ‘stuff’, but perhaps that is not the real problem. The complication is that they want all the ‘stuff’ out on display at the same time. They think this looks great and say, “but I can find everything”

For the duration of the sale time, perhaps you could add inexpensive shelves to a corner or inside the wardrobe. Clear plastic bins come in all shapes and sizes and not only make things look good, but the kids can still see everything inside them.

Find a space in your garage for the kid’s seasonal clothes and sports equipment. Look for beds with drawers underneath. Use chests that double as a seat when a cushion is put on top. Stack boxes in a corner, each one painted with the room’s colour scheme. This way the boxes could look to be a part of their bedroom furnishings. This is definitely worth the small cost to impress the potential buyers.

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The five insurance MUST HAVES are:
1. Life insurance, because your family will need it if you die
2. Disability insurance. Medical science keeps you alive far more than ever before. E.g. most survive strokes now, but your ability to work is severely impaired. So who pays the bills if this happens?
3. Health insurance, unless you want to be on waiting lists for months
4. Home & contents. You may be surprised how many don’t have this.
5. Car insurance. Shop around for deals, they vary a bit.
And some that you DON’T need:
Extended warranties. Conditions are too strict and few ever claim; Credit Card insurance, as the best option here is simply to not use it; Accidental Death Cover, as only 4% of deaths are due to accidents, Flight insurance (normally a $20 option) as 99% of flights get you to where you want, when you want. Stick to the 5 basic insurances and you will rarely go wrong.

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www.dbh.govt.nz The Department of Building and Housing web site, where you will find information on building law and compliance, services including weather-tight homes, and advice for tenants and landlords.

www.landlords.co.nz Online magazine for those in the
investment market or those wanting to get into it.
Click in “Tools” in this site for an excellent range of cashflow forecast spreadsheets, tenancy forms etc.

www.nzpif.org.nz NZ Property Investors Federation, the umbrella body for 20 local Property Investors’ Associations throughout New Zealand.

www.firstnational.co.nz to search for investment properties.

www.goodreturns.co.nz/bookstore for an excellent range of books on property, investment and money management.

www.interest.co.nz which compares every mortgage rate in NZ.

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Many young couples see their dream of home ownership just too far beyond the horizon, but there are things that can make the dream a reality.
The first step is to talk to your bank face-to-face, or perhaps a competent mortgage broker. Find out your financing options and just what you can borrow for what repayments.
Then talk to a First National real estate agent about the market, preferred areas what can be bought for that price. (Kiwi Bank recently removed the interest penalties for loans above 80% of property value…watch the others follow!) When you have a clear goal, it is far easier to write a budget. Set up a separate bank account for your deposit. Sell stuff and put the money into this account. Accept a more austere lifestyle for a while. It’s worth it.
Talk to your family about shared equity – meaning that they have a stake in your first home. Perhaps they can pay 25% of the cost which significantly reduces your borrowings. Their payback is when it comes time to sell, as they get 25% of the sale price. This arrangement is much more common than you might think.
And the really BIG way to afford your new home is to lower your sights. Remember that this is a FIRST home, so you don’t have to have a double garage, en-suite, two lounges and four bedrooms. That’s what your second home will have. Right now, just get yourself on the property ladder.

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