davros1984

Look, I don't expect it on a plate. I am happy to buy a terraced or semi-house,I just don't want an enormous mortgage - I'm not after some 5-bed detached stone mansion. I am used to 30-40 minute commutes. My commute from Beach Haven used to take 15-20 mins, but as traffic increased it was upto 40-45 minutes (through Onewa Rd). It was when I regularly commuted over an hour in the SE of the UK and realised what a waste of time it was that my priorities changed! For me, in the work I do - I have regularly worked out of hours, on-call, its the nature of IT. I have done far more of that in NZ than I ever did in the UK - but everyone's experience there is different. To compensate for the extra hours, not having a long commute aids with the work-life balance as at least I can get home, have dinner, see the better half, go out and do something and then if required - work. Although again, a lot of people move to NZ (Auckland in this instance) as they believe the following is a given:
a) work less
b) Have more time off
c) have an easier/shorter commute.

There have been dozens of examples of people saying that and expecting it. I don't think what I said was unrealistic. A lot of the people i work with here have said that for them the most important thing is a short-commute to and from work.

davros1984

Look, I understand your post and you know what, its a fair one - I try not to make personal attacks on people as it doesn't get you anywhere. You are right - people should do what they can to ensure they are well informed. It wasn't until late 2012/early 2013 when the media really went bonkers about Auckland housing.

I made it very very clear that when we arrived in 2011, prior RWC 2011, a 3-4 bed town house in Albany (luxury) in Milford, in Albany could easily have been bought for around 400-450K- we looked at plenty. The same very house we liked was up for sale last year at over 750K and went at auction for many times over that. This is not something you can prepare yourself for as its just utter madness. When we got here we could have afforded to buy if we had a deposit, but as you know - the heat in Auckland turned up, it took us a few years to build up a deposit but prices had gone up so much - no chance.

That sort of environment is not worth the stress it brings, even if it does have great beaches. Hence why I, Pippa and many others got out when we did.

A Rush And A Push

Yep, the Herald is especially obsessed with property stories every few days. Yesterday's is here:-

Tired house pulls big price - Business - NZ Herald News

garethwm

Were you able to find CVs out online? I think there are enough properties for sale by conventional sale (50% ? - trademe property) with listed price that should allow perusers to get a feel for the market. Remembering, of course, that most sell for less than what is listed.

Robbo25

I think everyone's personal has to be valid and I completely understand how hard it is for people to realise that the reality is not what was expected and even more if you feel forced to return to where you came from. However it was a valid point that people have been willing to move elsewhere in the UK to ensure what they want i.e. short commute times but didn't feel able to do that in NZ, personally I find it interesting rather than a judgement on an individual.

Additionally, if you went to an auction now you would find a completely different dynamic , as approx 75% pf properties are not selling at auction and less properties are coming on the market in Auckland.

Just as in the UK the price bubble has been built on very little i.e. no wage inflation, unemployment very slow to decline etc, it will be interesting to see what happens. I also went to several auctions for houses I was very keen on but the auctions blew threw my ceiling within a couple of bids.

I have also never known so many people in their 30's and 40's with their mortgage paid off as I have in NZ, I cannot fathom how but they have and I am not talking senior exec's or the very wealthy.

Robbo25

And if you are travelling outside of the main rush hours that travel time is still possible on that road, or you could now catch a ferry which is pretty cool.

Many people do get the above that you mention but there are also many that don't, that to me is fair and balanced but it isn't always black and white i.e. I used to get 7, yes 7, weeks off in the UK but I was almost always expected to still read my emails, still be available should they need me, and it always took me at least the first week to unwind from the levels of stress in the workplace.

pippalonghorn

We went to one viewing on a property that was not going to auction. There were many people viewing the property that day and the estate agent informed my hubby that there had already been an offer put in for 100,000 over the asking price.

It is possible to find CV's online. We had arrived in NZ when the property prices started to go crazy.

You can't pick out things that people should have done constantly to them. I wouldn't change anything about our experience. I just worry sometimes that sugar coating everything about life in NZ gives others a false perception of the place they are moving to. When you are emigrating you tend to focus on the positives more and if there are no negatives then it's false information.

Bo-Jangles

Well if it's of no interest why do you keep coming back to read it?

Northern Henry

To be fair this conversation is very Auckland centric. You could buy a mansion with pool in Hamilton for equivilent of a 2/3 bed unit in Double Grammar zone in Auckland...but like an old record keep skipping back to the fact of Supply and Demand... A dream house in Hamilton or elsewhere....or in the thick of it in Auckland...."If only we'd moved back in 2011 and bought that old grey Lynn villa, used it as a project to get on the property ladder..."(sarcasm). Auckland is like London - fact. Property is is demand, people are willing to pay over what some people expect. This is unlikely to change and prices will continue- maybe not at the same pace- rise. The market doesn't owe anyone any favours.
It is a fool in this day and age (full internet research at your finger tips) who comes expecting gold plated streets and that cheap central house 10 mins from work in Central Auckland. More tales of sour grapes for not stepping onto the ladder early on...(Auckland is the same as any "Capital" city in the world......as yet another reminder).
I imagine a high proportion of the tales of woe, come from uk none major city dwellers....?
(I speak as a mover from Yorkshire, not a London type..)

Bo-Jangles

Really ? I do have to wonder where people are looking; 30 minutes on the train gets you to a whole lot of decent places around South London / North Kent borders. Most people I know in the area are 'normal' everyday working class folks with young families; tradies, office workers and the likes. i.e. nothing special.

At risk of repeating stuff that's been said before and before, there's plenty of housing options in the less then £300k bracket and 30 minute train journey from central London. Just one of many examples: 3 bed detached house within seven minutes of Barnehurst railway station £280k - 31 mins journey on the train.

3 bedroom detached house for sale in Horsa Road, Northumberland Heath, Kent, DA8, DA8

Robbo25

Well you appear to have found some sort of nirvana, although that appears amazingly cheap for inside the M25, I am guessing that £280K is a pipedream for many in the UK at the moment, probably just like $100k for many in NZ.

To counter however try this one: Villa Speaking Character and Charm | Trade Me Property

37 mins by train into central Auckland and this includes the walk to the station which was 17 mins on the one in Dartford

pippalonghorn

I would not describe myself as a fool at all. I don't know anyone who has returned from NZ that went over there expecting 'gold plated streets' or 'cheap property'. There are no sour grapes in my fruit bowl about not coming to NZ earlier because I was not ready career wise. I graduated a year before we came out. I'm so pleased that I have spent the majority of my life in the UK and experienced what I have. I have no want to return to NZ to live however beautiful it is. I also have no want to be negative about NZ either. There are also no tales of woe in my book collection either. I have lived in cities and villages.

We can all be defensive about where we live but there comes a point when being defensive crosses over and becomes argumentative and one sided. I have reached the point where I am not going to carry on defending myself when I have nothing to defend. It is easy to use words like 'fool' in sentences whilst trying not to be so obvious as to who you are calling.

The Weezer

I was trying to figure out if you were serious that the villa described in the link "counter's" the one in Bo's post. Are you being tongue in cheek?

I know this area well. The house is directly across the street from a large industrial area, and there'd be heavy trucks passing constantly. It's really not a nice area. Should I even mention the obvious, which is the house has no insulation or heating? It would take quite a lot of money to put that right. Also, I would worry about the condition of the weatherboards. On these old villas, especially the ones that have been neglected, you find the vendor paints over the rotten bits, of which there are many, especially on the window sills. All the nearby schools are decile 1.

I've never been to Kent, but the view on Google maps shows a house in a solidly residential area. Can't speak for the quality of the nearby schools, though. At least the house has heating, and the ad says the windows are double-glazed, although we don't know if they're in good condition.

bourbon-biscuit

I do think that is an issue here - it's right that houses are but from light materials and wood is a fine thing to build a house in, but they take a lot of maintenance and it is just incredible how much of NZ property is just unsuitable for the climate (and sometimes for human habitation). Weeping windows are ridiculously common, as is having no insulation and pathetically inadequate heating. What is very different from the UK property market is that here you can find heating, insulation and damp problems even in quite expensive property.

Stormer999

Think the price is what it is for a reason.....


http://www.police.uk/metropolitan/00ADGS/crime/stats/