Opinion

Finally a bounce

Tuesday, December 14th 2010

Well it finally happened. There has been a spring bounce in house prices according to REINZ figures out today.

We often talk about the housing market picking up in spring and until now it has failed to materialise. Looking at the numbers there has been some lift which will no doubt have many of the doomsayers scratching their head.

It isn’t that surprising to see this lift as for a couple of weeks now contacts in the real estate industry have been reporting that there have been increased levels of activity in the market.

Perhaps what has been the most surprising is that the low interest rates haven’t spurred on much activity in the housing market – something Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard noted last week in the Monetary Policy Statement.

The good news, for investors, out of that statement was that he has now indicated that the official cash rate will be kept low for longer than previously expected.

You’d think this would be seen as a positive sign for the market. However, we put out our quarterly property investment survey today and early submissions flag interest rates as one of the issues for next year. At least it shows investors are thinking about what is happening out there.

If you would like to have your say click here to take part in the survey.

Coming back to the latest stats one has to be careful about extrapolating them as it is, after all, only one month. There are still plenty of positive and negative factors battling each other and this could just be a blip, or as some say a dead cat bounce.

Immigration and interest rates are positives; however affordability and a still weak economy are negatives.

The next two months are unlikely to give much more of an indication on where things are heading as they are traditionally pretty dormant. However we did get the spring bounce in summer so who knows.

PS: The latest issue of NZ Property Investor Magazine is in the shops now. In it we have pitted the North Island against the South Island to see which has the best investment opportunities.

More info and pics on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/NZPropertyInvestor

And here
Heartland Bank - Online 6.69
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.74
Wairarapa Building Society 6.95
Unity 6.99
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 7.04
ICBC 7.05
China Construction Bank 7.09
BNZ - Classic 7.24
ASB Bank 7.24
ANZ Special 7.24
TSB Special 7.24
Unity First Home Buyer special 6.45
Heartland Bank - Online 6.45
China Construction Bank 6.75
TSB Special 6.75
ICBC 6.75
ANZ Special 6.79
ASB Bank 6.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.79
Kiwibank Special 6.79
BNZ - Classic 6.79
Unity 6.79
Westpac Special 6.39
China Construction Bank 6.40
ICBC 6.49
SBS Bank Special 6.55
Kiwibank Special 6.55
BNZ - Classic 6.55
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.55
ASB Bank 6.55
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.55
TSB Special 6.59
Kainga Ora 6.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19
AIA - Back My Build 6.19
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39
Credit Union Auckland 7.70
ICBC 7.85
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99
Pepper Money Essential 8.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40
First Credit Union Standard 8.50
Kiwibank 8.50

More Stories

Support for regulation

Monday, March 18th 2024

Support for regulation

REINZ has emphasised the need for property management regulation to Parliament’s Social Services and Community Committee.

A better investment market

Thursday, March 14th 2024

A better investment market

“Reinstatement of interest deductibility starting from the new tax year on 1 April brings property investors back in line with every other business in the country, where interest costs are a legitimate deductible expense," Tim Horsbrugh, New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) executive committee member says.

[OPINION] Recessionary times

Thursday, March 14th 2024

[OPINION] Recessionary times

It is not the best out there for many businesses and property sector people. Sales are down across the board, our clients’ confidence is falling, and there is a lot of uncertainty.

Interest rate expectations: It’s not over yet

Thursday, March 07th 2024

Interest rate expectations: It’s not over yet

Most Kiwis think interest rate increases have peaked.