Investors open to body corporate arrangements: Crockers

It polls property investors each month, asking about their plans for their portfolios as well as wider property issues.

The April survey showed relatively high levels of ownership of body corporate properties – 67% of those surveyed owned one.

But most did not actively participate in the body corporate's committee and were only involved as owners. Just two in 10 participated beyond their role as an owner.

Almost half those surveyed preferred to buy a property with a single title but 40% said they did not mind a body corporate.

Those who preferred single-title properties most commonly said their reason for that preference was the fees charged, at 60%.

That was followed very closely by the hassle of dealing with difficult owners, at 59%, and having to rely on the body corporate for maintenance, at 46%.

The Auckland Index showed that more investors were planning to invest in Auckland properties over the next 12 months than in the last survey. 

Almost half expected to see better performance from their portfolios over the next 12 months, the highest level recorded by the survey.

Another 43% expected their portfolio performance to be the same.

Almost a quarter planned to increase the size of their portfolios and 62% planned no changes.

Of those planning to purchase, there was a big increase in the number interested in buying commercial properties sometime in the next 12 months in April, up from 9% in March to 23%.

The surveyed noted that two-bedroom rentals had climbed in price since January this year, but three-bedrooms were relatively stable.