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House prices are tumbling in the main centres. Westpac says market will remain "very soft" for next two years

Property
House prices are tumbling in the main centres. Westpac says market will remain "very soft" for next two years

House prices fell substantially in the main centres last month as sales volumes dried up, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of NZ.

The REINZ's national median selling price dropped $28,000, or 5%, to $518,000 in July, down from its peak of $546,000 in March.

It was the fourth consecutive month that the national median price has fallen.

In Auckland the median selling price dropped to $830,000, down by $75,000, or 8%, from its March peak of $905,000.

There were also substantial falls in median prices in the Bay of Plenty, where it dropped to $489,000 in July from $557,500 in June, in Wellington where it dropped to $490,000 in July from $530,000 in June and is now down by $50,100 from its April peak of $540,100, in Canterbury where it dropped to $420,000 from $435,000 in June and is now down by $30,000 from its March peak of $450,000.

Compared to June, prices also fell in Manawatu/Whanganui, Taranaki, Tasman and West Coast, while median prices rose in Northland, Waikato, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Nelson, Marlborough, Otago and Southland.

Median prices are now below where they were 12 months ago in Auckland, -1.2%, Bay of Plenty -1.2%, West Coast -23.5% and Canterbury -2.3%, while record median prices were set in July in Northland , Hawke's Bay, Nelson and Otago.

The fall in prices in Canterbury and the rise in prices in Otago means that Otago's July median of $400,000 is now almost matching Canterbury's median of $420,000.

The drop in prices was accompanied by a sharp fall in the number of home sold in July, which was down 24.5% compared to July last year, while in Auckland the number of sales fell by 30.6%.

REINZ sets sights on RBNZ's LVR restrictions

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell blamed the Reserve Bank's loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions and access to finance as two of the main reasons for the slowdown in the market, and called for the LVR restrictions to be eased for first home buyers.

"The LVR restrictions have done their job of slowing the market, but now it seems they are acting as a hand brake which is why REINZ is calling for LVRs to be reviewed for first home buyers," she said.

However Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon pointed the finger at rising mortgage interest rates as one of the main reasons for the slowdown.

"The slowdown in the housing market has been larger and more persistent than we've observed in the past when loan-to-value limits have been tightened, or when buyers may have been nervous about an election outcome," Gordon wrote in a Westpac First Impressions newsletter on the REINZ figures.

"We have long emphasised the role of interest rates in determining house prices; the rise in mortgage rates since late 2016 following two years of steady declines, appears to have had a significant dampening effect on the housing market.

"We expect the rise in mortgage rates to persist, as they are the product of factors that are beyond the control of domestic monetary policy.

"That points to the housing market remaining very soft over the next year or two.

"The Reserve Bank's forecast of even a relatively modest 4% rise in prices this year looks too high," he said.

 

Volumes sold - REINZ

Select chart tabs

NZ total
Source: REINZ
Northland
Source: REINZ
Auckland
Source: REINZ
Waikato
Source: REINZ
Bay of Plenty
Source: REINZ
Gisborne
Source: REINZ
Hawke's Bay
Source: REINZ
Manawatu
Source: REINZ
Taranaki
Source: REINZ
Wellington
Source: REINZ
Tasman
Source: REINZ
Nelson
Source: REINZ
Marlborough
Source: REINZ
West Coast
Source: REINZ
Canterbury
Source: REINZ
Otago
Source: REINZ
Southland
Source: REINZ

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428 Comments

I can see why people buy "investment" properties, it's not something I could do, as you're essentially stopping someone else from owning their own house. You mention hard work, but you haven't worked hard for the properties you own, you've used debt to finance something you couldn't afford with your income.

Your hard work enabled you to buy one home, you didn't work hard to own 7 houses. The reason why I and many others don't have the cash to own, is because you've used debt (not hard work) to buy more than you need and inflated the prices of houses - that's greedy.

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Very true - and there's now every chance he/she doesn't own any of the properties outright - including the one that was once mortgage free. Noting the comment, "its only lately that we have been able to draw some income from them". That's hard to comprehend given the purchases were made in 2005/6 (10+ years ago).

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He did say 2005-6 so could be only a third the way threw a 30 year mortgage, also with rates and insurance you need to get a mortgage down quite low before seeing a profit

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Thanks quite right, have corrected my comment. It's still not wise investment to me :-)!

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Thank you for saying this! Buying investment property is NOT hard work at all. It is a product of luck and taking advantage of a situation that not many people have. And if more investment properties are bought, less owner-occupier houses become available.

It is not a "public service" to be a landlord either, especially if you raise rent to meet the market. If one is so generous, rent should be very low to enable the renter to save up for their own house. But what happens is rents are so high that renters cannot save up for a deposit. It's a downward spiral.

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I can see why people buy "investment" properties, it's not something I could do, as you're essentially stopping someone else from owning their own house."
That's an interesting comment, Independent Observer thinks the same way. Can you please explain why you think that if John buys a house and rents it to Paul, Paul has missed out buying that house. How do you come to that conclusion ?

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Because John outbid Paul at the auction?

If you have a family renting a house from you, they are 90% likely to want to own their own hose, if it was affordably priced. I mean, who likes insecurity in their housing? Who likes living in someone else's house, with the chance they will have to move with a few weeks notice? Not many. Who likes knowing you are paying off someone else's mortgage, not getting ahead in life yourself? Renting should be reserved for students, overseas temporary workers, and single professionals who do contract work which means travel.

Property investors in the market will bid up the price of houses more than what first home buyers can afford. Giving the first home buyers the only choice of renting. Once they rent it is difficult to save for a deposit, and the investors are not stopping, they are out buying more houses with rent money from their tenants. It is a game of monopoly, and those collecting rent from the most people win.

However you are not contributing to society, you are a drain on it. So you have to weigh up the money vs your conscience. Some like yourself, choose to be ignorant of the down side, and tell yourself stories to get rid of the conscience weight on your mind. Like, "I treat my tenants so well", "I am a provider of accommodation, A valuable service to the community", "I am not stopping anyone from buying their own house if they choose to", "my tenants prefer to rent".

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Exactly, Paul earns $80k per year saved for his deposit has $150k in cash for a $750k house, John earns $50k has not saved but has $200k in equity and can push the price up to $800k, Paul has to duck out, despite having actual money and not debt, and being in a better position to service the loan - this scenario has been playing out to ever greater degrees for the last 5-10 years.

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I agree, greed for more than one rental each is very high, if it was for there kids wouldn't you just help them into there first house, they get everything when you die anyway, 4 to 6 or 10 is madness and yes it just pushes prices up, if you really thought about it, kids might start renting as a student or saving for that first house at 18, we stay in our house to say 80 , they other small factors but rentals should only be around 20% of the total houses, and prices would then be affordable because of this way, there you go 1 rental each with climbing taxes every rental above that, I'm putting that to parliament, I'm no joking

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its easy to see if a city like Auckland let's overseas investors get carried away starting price to lift fast , if 10000 investors all of a sudden decided to buy 5 or 6 houses, that's like bringing new buyers into the market turning a city into a price war full of rentals and you can see why the numbers are so high leaving , stupid greed

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$150000 a property in 2005-6 and only gone to 300k each now, where are these property , are they stand alone

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Well done PK,
you have just demonstrated the perfect example of most property investors ( entrepreneurs ) who woke up early, saved hard, and worked hard and deprived themselves a bit to make it happen .. instead of sitting on social media and theorizing fundamentals when they hardly know Sh*t from clay in this business .... well done mate , and enjoy the fruit of your hard work.

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Unbelievable- no one is saying people shouldn't buy property for the investment and retirement and over the long team goes up, the problem people have is the amount housing has gone up short term taking it out of many locals reach and how it's happened and the very real risks it could course, hasn't RE agents already lost big amounts of there income ,hasn't the volume of investment mortgages dropped a lot, hasnt banks tightened etc etc, buying a house or model t car in 1925 and keeping it forever knowing there will be a profit isnt rock science or some long term rentals , property doubling in a stupid amount of years with large amounts of dept and greed, now that worth commenting about

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good on ya!

the long game usually pays off and you bought at a good time with good gains to be made.

For anyone thinking of doing what you have done now would be insane, all the forces are pointing to a big correction.

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Across the globe (Hong Kong, Singapore, UK,Canada) we are seeing politicians having to intervene when average house prices get to around 10x the median wage.
This seems to be the level that creates political unrest.

Singapore was the first to act and it took nearly 18 months to take effect.

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Winter is never a good time to sell. In fact any seller would only want to sell in summer, unless they had to. So no surprise numbers are down. But agents seem to by using LVRS restrictions on first home buyers as the reason. But the fact is there are also less houses on the market, no no wonder sales numbers are also down.

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Summer was a better time to sell! Last summer......

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Summer is better time but not when prices are falling. If one has a holding capacity should hold but if someone has to sell, Now is the right time to sell and book whatever profit or loss.

Reducing loss is also good - so depending upon one's circumstance if can hold for few years but if not than the earlier one sell the better.

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If your going to take a loss make it as small as possible

If you are in it for capital gain, take the profit now while you can or be prepared to hang in there for the long term

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Agreed, house prices wont go up in the short term, but longer term they will I'm fairly sure The past is a reasonable indicator when it has been so consistent, when now, immigration is high(demand) , interest rates so low and the amount of money flowing through the monetary system has been so high. Global forces may prevail to impact on this however. Trump vs Nth Korea will have the effect of tightening credit/ increasing interest cost, China might spit the dummy. the sky might fall. Who knows. Fortune favours the bold.

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immigration doesnt = demand

we are just coming off record immigration and houses are not flying of the shelves and prices are plummeting

in Auckland. Median prices there are -$75,000 below their peak in March, an -8.3% drop in just five month

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Hi thegic,

Given that Auckland house prices rose something like 95 percent in 5 years, a drop of 8.3 percent in five months is very small indeed. (And that 8.3 percent is in winter, during election year.)

Perspective is important in making comparisons!

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And the general rule of a housing bubble bursting is it takes about half the time it took to rise for prices to go back down. So going by your maths, I'd expect 2012 prices in about 2 years. Watch this space!

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Party is over and now with change of government after election, it will be good new for average kiwi but more bad news for speculators and foreigners looking to park their money in NZ.

Only hope for Speculators and foreigners / non resident / overseas buyer that national win the election and will be good not for Kiwis but for them.

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In less than 5 hours, this thread has attracted nearly 200 posts.

Who said the property market is lacking enthusiasm?

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spruikers are trying to keep the enthusiasm up !!!

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I think it's more disaster porn than property enthusiasm.

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That's like saying that watching The Poseidon Adventure indicates that somebody wants to take a cruise.

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"spruikers are trying to keep the enthusiasm up !!!"

Clearly, they don't need to try very hard.

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you def. don't think before you reply..

why is it you always sound so desperate?

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Hi Houses Overpriced,

In case you haven't noticed, enthusiasm for property has gone through the roof.

This thread has probably set a record for number of contributions in 6 hours.

NZers covet property!

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enthusiasm for property is always there... provided the price expectation is within limits..

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A reply does not equal enthusiasm... have you done text analytics to mine positive and negative sentiment? No?

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It's really clear now that Chinese investors was more that 3 % more like 30%....mass pull back all over the world...just watch this whoosh!!!!!
https://youtu.be/9jcL1c014pw

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Totally

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If the overseas buyers were more than 3% it meand the government lied and manipulate.

Good that election is not far away

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Those with a short-term mindset are fixated with the current soft market - and can't see further than their noses.

Those with a long-term mindset are focused on the huge (and growing) enthusiasm for property in NZ - and know that the stage is now being set for the next market upswing......

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i guess you have that printed out in front of you... I wonder if you really believe yourself!!!

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yeah, yeah like after the election ay.....

when it hits - 20% will you change your tune

in Auckland. Median prices there are -$75,000 below their peak in March, an -8.3% drop in just five month

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yeah, yeah like after the election ay.....

when it hits - 20% will you change your tune

in Auckland. Median prices there are -$75,000 below their peak in March, an -8.3% drop in just five month

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Everyone with a long term outlook, that is the right way to look at investment, but if you have the chance to buy a little lower if the chance was to come up why not take it, with all the news out there at the moment there's a good chance you could save thousands of dollars, WAIT AND SAVE MONEY, you have little to loose

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High house prices, and therefore high levels of borrowing soaks up more of peoples income and gives them less to spend in the shops/bars/restaurants, therefore over time high house prices will have an effect on the economy.

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Hi Munes,

Agree - but I'd rather have a house in Auckland Central than a beer in a pub, or a pizza in a restaurant!

People often choose to save hard (and stay away from shops/bars/restaurants) so that one day they might be able to catch a really big prize..........

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"...Agree - but I'd rather have a house in Auckland Central than a beer in a pub, or a pizza in a restaurant!.." seriously bro? Seriously? I am lost for words... a beer and a pizza cost at most 25 bucks... what planet are you living on? Let me give you some serious advice... before writing something, stop. Think about it. Stop again. Go for a walk. Then think about it again. Stop. Go to bed. Don't write anything.

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this is good advice

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lol, he is living on a planet which you will never discover in your life with your attitude towards money !! - a beer and pizza @ home costs $7 , the rest goes towards more important things " like your house or your investment for your future!" . There more you do that , they wealthier you become !! ... maybe you should follow your own advice for a change , you might see the benefit of the above free tip ... after a walk !!

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Mods, can we please ban Eco

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Hi Eco Bird,

Obviously, you're correct (and your advice is sensible)...... The moral of the story is that if you cut out spending/wasting money on little things that you don't really need, it can make a big difference when you come to put down a deposit on a house.

But it's advice that's wasted on some of the people above - who are neither deep-thinkers nor wise.

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it's the same advice as not buying avocados, SkyTV or iPhones though. And it's been proven to be stupid and condescending. It stinks of white privilege.

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Elephantis ad cubiculum

Seems just about everyone commenting here is trying desperately to avoid the subject of the withdrawal of foreign money (mainly Chinese, let's be real about this now) from the real estate market, here and all around the world).
Forget cycles, forget yoy, forget mortgage interest rates, forget LVRs. The single most influential reason for house prices to get to the ridiculous heights they were was them and the reason they are going down and will continue for quite a while, by quite a lot, is exactly the same. It is like how your old grandad taught you that you go down the hill in the same gear you went up.

We have never seen the conditions that caused the market to go as high as it did, and we have never seen the conditions that will send them back down. Buckle yourselves in, you are about to find out why the government should have dealt with this before it happened.

And when the government changes, do not forget who is to blame.

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I agree PocketAces - its seems crazy for people to claim that the past is going to be a predictor of the future in terms of real estate returns. I think what we've witnessed the last 10-15 years is an anomaly, the likes of which we may not see again in the next 100years....

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And let us not speculate on what would happen if the Chinese govt decided it wanted to repatriate some/all of that capital parked all round the world.

Oh darn, too late, I said it.

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Really ? haha, you don't say !! ... wow 100 years you reckon?
My grand grand sons will be happy as then....lol! better get some more Pinot - these posts are extremely entertaining ....

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Elephas in cubiculo??

ursam periculosum in villam mitto!!!

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THIS COULD BECOME A NEW RECORD OF THE NUMBER OF COMMENTS , THIS COULD EVEN CARRY ON IF WORLD WAR THREE WAS BROADCASTED

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Anyone heard what our great sage Shamubeel has to say about this latest development? He has certainly timed the market well...

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I dont think Shamubeel has anything left to say, he shot himself in the foot and now looks like a fool because of his big mouth brag and wrong calculus! .... I guess he knows that he will be ridiculed for anything he would says now !! so he is enjoying his new house and eating humble pie for breakfast.

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Perhaps it's something you should try, "humble pie..." you do appreciate what ridicule is, don't you?

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haha, why are you so fired up ?
Unless ?... you are actually him disguised under a false nick name .... Or, have I touched on a sensitive nerve there ? !! lol

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What a coincidence China's outbound real estate investment dropped 82% in the first half of 2017...

http://www.chinabankingnews.com/2017/08/10/chinas-outbound-real-estate-…

Who would have thought the activity of Chinese real estate "investors" (or the absence thereof) would have such a significant impact on our housing market? According to national, foreign activity in real estate was insignificant and not affecting prices in the slightest...

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At least they can say it now, and it will probably be the truth. How many years have people like me been demanding the government put a halt on foreign buyers, but what did they do, they denied, denied and went and stitched us up via the South Korean and then the TPP to never being able to alter our laws about it, to make any difference.
The actions of the Chinese government could now send the rest of the world into a dreadful recession.

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Wow. Another 100 comments since last night. Really highlights two camps. Average kiwis working and paying tax in NZ, and the leverage up gang in love with capital gains and the anti tax dance.

Vote for your future here.

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First home buyers back in the market now.
Avocados have crashed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/95683135/cheaper-avocados-and-st…

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Haha, and I've got rid of Sky too - show me those houses time to buy, buy, buy! Oh I forgot I bought a new phone recently so that's me out the game again, dammit and curse you Apple!

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.

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Just for the record...thanks for providing an outstanding example of why there is so much inter generational hostility and having the audacity to preach to us about what "hard work" is PKChew.

Free tertiary education or zero need for it, dirt cheap housing and costs of living and to top it off a pension and a gold card. Gearing up debt on equity that was generated purely from the time you were born and you're a raging success of hard work? Absolutely astounding gloating attitude.

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Not sure why boomers need to apologise to today's generation for being born when they have.
Reality is that the boomers when they bought worked hard to,own and didn't need to have the finest of everything.
NZ Is a great place to live In Regardless of when you were born.
The fact is that you can buy the first home with the aid of parents or by other means which is not what the boomers were able to do as loans were rationed back then.
The truth is that if you want to own a first home there are ways and means to be able to do this you just need to get the correct advice.
Reality is that those that called for higher LVRs have found that it may well have backfired on them.

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Houses cannot keep rising in price beyond the ability of most citizens to purchase without creating social upheaval. How exactly such forces might eventually erupt I cannot predict. However, if serious antisocial movements start to worry the elites, then we may see drastic changes to NZ laws regarding ownership of accommodation. Owning more than one (or perhaps two) houses may become an extremely risky investment. Indeed, if new laws do not fix our problems and permit equitable home ownership, other forces might. One would not want to be a slumlord if the pitchforks are at large.

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Not sure for whom Bindi is working for. The medium price of 830K in Auckland for first home buyer or anybody is already extremely high. I would not recommend to promote this person to be our next housing minister anyway. Rather shall welcome to come down to the road (Queens st.) as well as enjoy winter blues overnight and spend time with the bravest and strongest homeless Kiwis.

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Hey DGZ, I'm starting to see some distressed sales in your neck of the Auckland woods, see I reserve the right to tell you I told you so, this crash will mostly hit the top end of the market. Watch your capital gains go 'In a puff of smoke over the next 12 months'! :-

Colleague says, 'Please help me!'
http://www.trademe.co.nz/property/residential-property-for-sale/auction…

Priced to Sell - Make Me An Offer!
http://www.trademe.co.nz/property/residential-property-for-sale/auction…

Auction Coming - This Must Be Sold!
http://www.trademe.co.nz/property/residential-property-for-sale/auction…

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CJ099 you've hit the nail on the head. The Remuera housing market has collapsed. The beautiful villas/bungalows on a full site that would easily go for $3M about 6 months ago are now selling for $500k. DGZ boundary has been removed and all Remuera residents are now having baked beans on toast everyday. You happy now?

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I am because it should never have been allowed to happen in the first place and anyone that tapped their house up and bought heaps of rentals helped to push prices to where they are so only have themselves to blame, the people that didn't could have sold, what was the Auckland saying, if you don't like the high prices leave, didn't key even say that

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Allowed. Their.

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Thank you

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$500k would be about right to, around the 2005 CV, that was the last boom period of 2002 to 2008, I would say around the $800k to $1.2 million for the nicer stuff would be more fair tho, of course FHB won't be going anywhere near these areas and the overseas money gone but if cheaper enough people will save the day I'm sure, so heads up

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@DGZ; Ahhh..... I'm sure it won't be quite that bad but then again.....? Remember there are quite a few money launders out there keen to dispose of their cash so that's something that you could feel cheerful about.

Though here's a little exercise for you; Take a look at the average pay scales for Auckland (Individual = $60k couples average $85k and god help them if they've got children but lets take an average of one child, plus a car), Then add a $50 deposit.

Most they can afford is $470k. Oh and that doesn't even take in to account any LVR restrictions, Now do you see what's happening.

Some helpful links for you:-

http://www.imf.org/external/research/housing/images/pricetoincome_lg.jpg

https://tools.anz.co.nz/home-loans/borrowing-calculator/

http://www.payscale.com/research/NZ/Location=Auckland/Salary

https://betterdwelling.com/chinas-fx-reserves-see-largest-rise-in-over-…

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I think only one of those is DGZ and they don't look particularly "distressed". The Koraha St one is asking for more than 100% over CV.

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The market has crashed and is still crashing I have no doubt about it. The plan is to head off to the open home at 49 Vicky Ave at 2pm and make a cheeky 500k offer and see if I am in luck yay http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1379133267

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I was thinking of attending the 5/761 Remuera Road auction today and report back on how it goes. Should be a good litmus test.

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Nice cute 2 bedroom unit. I know John Q quite well. Hope he will sell it today ^_^

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Gareth Vaughan, is it ok then that Gordon can call me the boy and also insinuate that I am telling porkies??
Clown is hardly derogatory Gareth!
Personally beleive that you should be looking at more of the comments than by me calling Gordon a clown when many of his comments are laughable!!!

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You're absolutely right THE MAN 2. However you only have to note the choices of comment of the day by the Editors to see the "personality" of the site. With that in mind you probably need to be a little more subtle. Also just let the silly comments go and let their authors have the last word. I know it's hard but readers like gordon offer very little of interest (pun intended).

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To make everyone happy, here are a few July/Aug sales in my neck of the woods to report:

14 Bassett Rd - Sold $8,000,000 CV $5,200,000
http://grahamwall.com/property/14-bassett-road-remuera/

163 Portland Rd - Sold $7,600,000 CV $7,200,000
https://www.barfoot.co.nz/593950

141 Arney Rd - Sold $4,400,000 CV $2,500,000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3nqa3c_hag

14 Ohinerau St - Sold $3,360,000 CV $2,100,000
http://rwremuera.co.nz/auckland/remuera/14-ohinerau-street-10272119/

55 Orakei Rd - Sold $2,880,000 CV $2,150,000
https://www.barfoot.co.nz/597852

96 Ladies Mile - Sold $1,450,000 CV $900,000
http://rwremuera.co.nz/auckland/remuera/96-ladies-mile-11257408/

5/28 Koraha St - Sold $1,900,000 CV $1,405,000
https://nz.raywhite.com/auckland-city/remuera/1687976/

2/2 Martin Ave - Sold $1,600,000 CV $1,100,000
https://www.barfoot.co.nz/599161

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An average of 38% above 2014 CV.

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That is quite incredible, totally bucking the trend. It is looking like the new 2017 CV will be somewhere between 30% and 50% above the 2014 CV, at least for DGZ I'd say.

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Quite right. The 'lucky' new owners get to pay rates at 30% - 50% more than the last owners for living in the very same property!

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I am sure the new owners will be more than happy to pay their fair share of rates to contribute to improving Auckland as the most liveable city in the world.

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My feeling is that the desirable parts of Auckland will retain their value or even continue a gentle upward trajectory. Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Vancouver prices are still rising. Auckland offers much better job prospects than Vancouver for professionals and has better weather than most of the others. Public transport infrastructure is of little concern to high end buyers who rarely use it anyway in Auckland. Auckland also has a lot of desirable suburbs and there are affordable alternatives throughout New Zealand. The shops are packed every weekend and car sales are going gang busters. I'd say the future looks reasonably rosy.

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You really do live in your own little world don't you Zachary. Well I hate to burst your bubble but in the real world the Gateway cities property prices are now dropping for the same reasons our are. Basically the top end buyers are gone and there is nothing to keep aloft those ridiculous property prices.

Take a look at Toronto as a prime example: Toronto Real Estate Prices Are Dropping Up To $2,100 Per Day

https://betterdwelling.com/city/toronto/toronto-real-estate-prices-drop…

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Toronto is not a "prime example". Terrible weather.

Anyway:
http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/sydney-melbourne-property-price…

I know you're worried you have made a mistake CJ099 but it's only money.

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Auckland offers much better job prospects than Vancouver

This was the message I heard recently from Chinese who went to Vancouver for a holiday who have friends living there. Apparently the job market is very tough for immigrants compared to here.

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Zach, I'm really sorry but Auckland doesn't compare to Vancouver, nor any big stateside city - it really doesn't. I love Auckland, it's a great place to raise a family, but it isn't and never will be a true international city, personally I'm glad I like the big, little city thing.

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Solidname, just reporting on what I heard recently. No need to be sorry, I like the big, little city thing too and so do migrants apparently. It may be easier to migrate here rather than there.

I spoke with a lovely young Singaporean couple today at an auction who told me that they thought Auckland offered a better quality of life than Singapore. Houses are cheaper here too. Very stressful for young people there apparently.

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Zach did John Q sell the unit?

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Double-GZ (and CJ099) the unit did sell. There was a good turn out of about ten groups with about four keen bidders. It got up to about 700K before they went into a huddle and came back saying the highest offer was now 735K and it was on the market., eventually selling for 765K. That's 36.6% above CV. A bit more than the homes.co middle estimate. The unit wasn't really all that remarkable but would be good for a professional couple.

I met a nice Singaporean young couple who were looking to buy in Auckland. They said a unit like this would sell for 3M in Singapore (hard to believe?) and that life was hard in Singapore although you could probably make more money if you enjoyed stress and spending two years in the army.

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OMG this is incredible! I suspected things won't be as bad as reported especially in our neck of the woods and your live auction illustration just proves that and caps it off nicely. It will make my working week this week, thank you Zachary ^^

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I see only five managed to sell at auction in Remuera last month, and no sales this month so far. Currently TradeMe has 71 listings for Remuera which is quite high when you compare that to the more affordable outer areas. And it's is likely to increase even further in the next few Spring months.

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Greenlane only has nine while it usually has over twenty.

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71 is very low for Remuera. It's normally between 90 and 120 at one point in time. Note that we have roughly 10,000 residential addresses in our suburb.

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Well it had a 100 listings a few months back but I know that RE's have been telling people to hold off on selling until after the election.

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Doesn't matter what the trend says in our neck of the woods, you will have a reason to shoot it down in no time. The election is only 6 weeks away you have got to be a clown to put your house in the market right now.

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LOL, agents never tell people to hold off selling. Why would they do that? And yes 71 is low for Remmers.

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Zach/DGZ or whoever you are I have to say your regular comments about Remuera and other Auckland inner city areas are certainly of very little interest to the many who look at this site as you are talking about house prices that most New Zealanders can only dream about if they won lotto. At least I talk about the real issues that many have such as just getting onto the housing ladder for a start. The trickle down effect from the rockstar economy has not happened for them or they have struggled to get onto it. They worry about their children and grandchildren and how they get into it. Luckily areas in Auckland such as the West, the North Shore and the South are seeing real drops in house pricing. Will that help National? I am not so sure. Dunne looks done, Act is shaky in Epsom and the Maori Party is struggling. I hate to say it but we might have a left wing government in September propped up by Winston. What will that mean. CGT and DTI's are on the cards for a start. Why anyone would buy a house at present in Auckland and Christchurch just shows how out of touch people are. Data is clearly showing a softening trend in pricing. Anyone who needs to sell should certainly try and sell now as further drops in values are far more likely than even a dead cat bounce. Over 400 comments in two days for an issue must be a record. It shows just how desperate Zach/DGZ is to try and keep moral up. It even got the Boy back as he is truly fearful of what is happening and cannot tell us enough how bad LVR's are. No one other than ZACH/DGZ and a few others will support him as he simply has no sympathy at all for those who were born after him or who are entering the market today. And that is National's achilles heal. They also have shown very little sympathy for the little people who just want a basic home they call their own. It does not have to be in Remuera. It can be anywhere but they want to call it their own. Jacinda like Trump will just keep saying" I will make your life better in terms of housing,health and education." She does not have to gives us the details and explain how it will be all paid for. People will believe her because she looks far nicer and comes across far more sympathetic than middle aged and comfortable men like myself. I personally think we should stick with National as the housing market seems to be correcting itself as overseas money dries up and LTI"S bite. Labour will promise but under deliver just like land agents. Hold all tickets.

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You're always going to be able to find properties that are a bit difficult to sell. A mortgagee sale, busy road, monolithic cladding, poor access, run down, low CV, low homes.co estimate and so on.

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That 96 Ladies Mile property that was sold on 7th Aug was a brought fwd auction. It is actually on the border of Remmers/Ellerslie and was sold within 10 days, and the price is 61% over the CV.

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The blurb says "beautifully renovated". That's a key point. Do ups will sell for much lower figures. FHB's look for do ups in the West and South and put in a low offer and do the work yourself. Buy wooden weatherboards and a tin roof. It is amazing what paint can do.

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@Zachary did you notice that Homes.co.nz now has monthly Rent Estimate? I am a bit shock to see that my home can be rented out for over $1,200/week. Imagine paying that every week *ouch* thankfully it is now mortgage free.

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Double-GZ, yes I did notice that. All my properties I rent out for less than the low figure cited although for my own house the value is rather low. Mind you I have a low CV for the house which doesn't reflect its current value accurately.

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The values for a couple of my rental properties are right smack in the middle of the range. I think I am doing well in terms of setting the right rates by the look of it ^_^

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Are these rentals imaginary like the fake Mission Bay rental you got caught lying about?

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One is in Mission Bay but not the one you think.

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Congratulations guys you must be very happy. So happy you need to post on a worldwide website and pat yourselves on the back. Humbleness and down to earth to boot, you have it all.

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Yes they sicken me too. But not to worry, we all realize what's coming. I've already highlighted to DGZ/Zachary that the AKL market can't remain as massively over inflated as it is without a huge amount of overseas investment and we all know that Asia credit tap has been very firmly turned off.

This is really going to hit the top end of the market far more rather than the mid to lower ends because they're more affordable.

Kiwi buyers should be very picky and not allow themselves to get suckered in to paying over inflated prices that's going to leave them at risk of negative equity as the market falls further.

Take and example from the Canadian's books, ever heard of 'gazundering'?

CTVNews.ca: Non-buyer's remorse: Toronto sellers frustrated as home buyers tack on demands
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/non-buyer-s-remorse-toronto-sellers-frustr…

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My you guys are being a bit "salty" tonight. We are actually being reasonably on topic with our discussion on the new homes.co.nz feature of including rental assessments and noting how they relate to our properties.
I have even done some hard yards and devoted part of my day to personally attending the auction of one of the properties you highlighted as being indicative of a stressed market. I am happy to report that no such stress was witnessed and that there were plenty of buyers and interested parties and that the property sold for a good price. There was quite a mix of people interested in the property, not just mainland Chinese.

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Nah, no one believes you own rental properties. You're a Real Estate Agent, and that's very obvious. So you mentioned you attended John Q's auction earlier, right? If you knew all those details without being one of the potential buyers, then you must have been there as a Real Estate Agent. Are you John Quiambao? I guess Stephen Wan is Double-GZ?

But they work for Ray White though, and I suspect you're a jealous competitor because John Q's been raking in sales lately especially since he's cornered the Stonefields market. I think you work for Barfoot and Thompson.

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I have no idea why you love attacking Zach and I so much. Everything you said is false accusation and out of proportion. Most residents here know the RE agents, Ray White or Barfoots, because 90% of them are local residents too! Nuff said as I have to get to work now.

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You know you are on target when the flak batteries open up. Attacks will come when we are scoring hits. I think in general we simply report what we are seeing in our local area and commenting as it relates to the topic of the article. More readers should do this. Readers may get the impression that it is all doom and gloom by reading the comments when that is not actually the case. Obviously we have skin in the game and we don't hide that and we probably do have much in common with RE agents and a certain admiration for them. JohnQ had a very nice motor, a Porsche GT3, and ran a good show. He must be doing very well. He was handing out nibbles to the attendees which was nice.
Personally I am happy to see a bit of a fall back in prices and less blind enthusiasm but I also want to see stability in the market. Stability is a good thing for all concerned, even FHBs.

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Attacks? Oh please.. You should take it as a compliment being called Real Estate Agents as at least your senseless and misplaced spruiking gives it purpose.

Scoring hits? With what? All I read in your "conversation" is gloating. Did you two not learn manners and etiquette growing up? You don't see anything wrong with what you are doing? Of course you don't, you probably grew up with silver spoon and white privilege and so detached from reality.

Oh, and why do you reply to me but not to Gordon? He spoke a whole lot of truth above. No response for him?

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RichMuhlach, what is your comment other than an attack?
I think we scored a bit of a hit with the auction result I witnessed on the weekend as the property was presented as being problematic.

Full disclosure - I grew up in a fairly ordinary environment after my family lost their plantation in Africa and returned to England to work as farm labourers. Hey, if Prince Harry can be privileged why can't I?

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The only thing close to an attack on my comment was calling you guys "jealous competitors" . Other than that they were all just guesswork. I don't see how anything else I said would have been construed as an attack, but then again you guys don't see anything wrong with what you are doing either so I don't know maybe you both consider every reply to you as an attack.

"We scored a bit of a hit" - why are you taking credit for a sale of a property if you don't own it or are the Real Estate Agent for it? Do you just take credit out of all sales in Epsom and Remuera?

I'm still waiting for your reply to Gordon's post about you.

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The next crash risk is hiding in plain sight....Our mental bins can sometimes hold time-bombs; particularly when investors are intoxicated by an asset-price boom.

https://www.ft.com/content/a859449e-7daf-11e7-ab01-a13271d1ee9c

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The only reason you can't buy 7 houses in 13 months if you are just starting out is because of the current LVR requirement needing 40 per cent deposit.
It is still not difficult to get on the property ladder outside of Auckland and also possible to become financially well off thru property providing you get advice from investors who have achieved financial independence.
Doesn't matter what decade anyone has been born in, as anyone has the opportunity to become financially successful in any decade and lifetime.
Reality is though that working for wages will get you thru life but if you want to do better than that then you have to work for yourself by achieving passive income!

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Passive income? Maybe. But why Property? Answer: Because there is a tax incentive to warehouse surplus funds/debt there. Who would buy property for passive income ( that mostly employs nobody; not even a rental agent in many cases) if the tax incentive was to run/start a business that DOES employ people ( to provide passive income for the owner)? No one, unless property made the same/more than an active business. As a society, we have it all wrong. We should be encouraging passive income via productivity, not speculation ( which is what property becomes once 'the sums' no longer generate Passive Income commensurate with the risks involved)

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The Boy if National is defeated at the next election you are then looking down the barrel at CGT, DTI's and maybe even the ring fencing of rental property losses. I can see you are seriously annoyed at LTI's as they are adding to the problem you have in Christchurch where house values and rentals are dropping but that is the least of your problem. Personally I do not want a change of government but there are so many people out there who think National has let them and their children down in terms of housing, health and education. As for you stating today that you can still buy 7 houses in 13 months that would have to be one of the more outrageous statements you have posted on this site as you could not even do that in poor old Christchurch where houses are so cheap as Banks will not let you do that where prices are dropping and rents decreasing.

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Gordon, personally would have no problem buying 7 houses straight away but if yield or value not there, I wouldn't bother.
Capital Gains Tax wouldn't worry either as it would not be retrospective and would only be paying on profit if I ever sold and profit is good isn't it?
Can't see DTI brought i as it would stuff most people includingFHBs forever.
Ringfencing also not a worry as every property is positively geared, so sorry to disappoint you again.
You are correct Gordon I believe housing is cheap on Chch for what it offers.
You can still buy with a 6 per cent return and also under valued.
Prices are flat in Chch at the moment which suits us as tenants are available as they aren't buying which is good for landlords.
Good property always rent.
Offer on the table still.

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Wellington, who certain commentators on here said would never drop...
It was listed in June at enquiries over 1.1 million now reduced to enquiries over $995000. That is now only $75000 above the RV and below the lowest trademe market prediction.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/property/residential-property-for-sale/auction…

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