Is time to buy now?

Our Experts Answer:

As you would have read lately in the media, house prices in Auckland are rising rapidly in the current boom market. The peak of the last boom was October 2007 so I am anticipating the peak of the next boom would be somewhere between eight to ten years from then (around October 2015 to October 2017 depending whereabouts in New Zealand). My choice for investing longterm is in the Auckland central suburbs.
We have a huge housing shortage in Auckland and immigration is on the increase to accommodate 1,000,000 retiring baby boomers over the next 10 years. Our economy is looking really good, with China committed to increasing their imports from New Zealand by 50% by 2020 (up another $10 billion) so that means plenty of jobs to grow New Zealand. The boom market means you should be buying with capital growth in mind. If you are not residing in Auckland then I would consider investing in the major city centers where the population is on the increase.