Investors seek capital gains

It found that 34% of investors bought for capital gain, 27% for yield, 18% for future considerations, 15% for location and 6% for price.

Investors thought that 5% to 7% was an acceptable yield in the current market. Those who responded to the survey said central Auckland was delivering the best yields, followed by South Auckland.

Crockers said the average rental return had dropped 0.4% since 2011 in Auckland, because prices were rising faster than rents.

Christchuch, by contrast, had seen the opposite happen. Rental prices had grown faster than sales prices, improving returns by 0.4% since 2011.

The survey showed that 53% of people expect their property investments to perform at the same level in the coming year as in the previous 12 months. But the number expecting better performance has dropped from 44% in August to 38%.

There was an increase in the number of people planning to add to their portfolios, up 7% to 28%, and an increase in the number who plan to sell, up 5% to 15%.

Those looking to invest were mostly interested in Auckland residential property that was not apartments. But there had been an increase in interest in CBD apartments, to more than one in five considering putting their money into the central city.