Mark Smith

Mines done in 20 years thanks (Chch). Also see proposed help for first time buyers https://www.national.org.nz/news/fea...st-home-buyers Not a validation of the current regime but better than a kick up the arse. Come on Davros take it easy, people in warm, double glazed houses shouldn't throw stones

davros1984

Mark Smith, appreciate your point about taking it is easy, but feel I have a duty to highlight the financial situation of Auckland, particularly around housing to other 20/30-something Brits thinking of going out there, who don't happen to have rich parents or 200K in the bank. In the last month I have met 2 couples who had the same issues as us and moved back to the UK.

You are in CHCH, not Auckland where house prices are far worse. I accept CHCH has its issues, however, had we gone to CHCH we could have found a house within 30ish mins of the city for around the 400-450K mark. Sure - I could have moved to CHCH instead of Auckland, but at the time we went Auckland was somewhat affordable (plenty of nice 3-bedders in the low-mid 400's). In addition you (like me) will probably be one of the few who are able to pay off a mortgage in under 25 years. For the average Kiwi its now around 50 years in Auckland. I am lucky that back here I am able to get a 3-bed period house for around 120-140K GBP.

The National policy you mention is no different to what was there previously other than the 10-20K grant.

The key thing that hasn't changed is this:

"It will have other criteria, including an income below $80,000 for an individual and $120,000 for a couple and the house being bought needs to be below the regional house price limits."

That was what stopped us using the kiwisaver scheme to purchase a house. Penalised for having skills which meant you could claim a wage over those numbers. We had a joint income of around 160,000 NZD so we wouldn't qualify for help and we needed a deposit in the region of 150-200K

Finally, the scheme does nothing to reduce house prices or stop the market going up in price any further.

bourbon-biscuit

I agree that I think the amendments to the scheme are just pre-election crapola-spin.

However, I do hope when my kids are in their 20s and early 30s they have lives that are about more than buying a home and getting a mortgage. Honestly, I would be really gutted if they moved from somewhere they loved living in their late 20s or early 30s just because they couldn't get on the housing market in that exact location

Having said that, renting in NZ is dire. Landlords think they're doing you a favour, agents assume you are parasitic scum. Rentals here, on the whole, are poorly insulated, poorly heated, grotty and damp. It's hard work renting in NZ.

Mark Smith

Get on with your life, stop wasting energy on this, move forward, live your life; plenty of information out there to warn would be migrants, starting to sound like EE forum.

Don't disagree at all about current affordability in Auckland and how Chch is getting, but what can you do about it individually, other than vote for another regime, save or move on?

Stormer999

Davros you have been worrying at this bone for a long long time now. It was the reason you went to live in the UK so leave the bone in NZ and enjoy your life whilst you are young enough, and as Mark has said future immigrants can look after themselves.

Mark Smith

Should there be a sticky/wiki on living/housing costs in Auckland?

BEVS

A wiki article would be welcome.
One that gave the basics of deposits , ratios , mortgages etc.
Then that could lead to another article on housing stock. Pros and cons. Areas etc.


I keep meaning to get stuck into the Wiki for all manner of topics but then become distracted by real life or blummin' BE spam/trolls.

Mark Smith

Well there's a job for somebody who is passionate about this subject....

jmh

Yeah, it's probably time to move on now Davros.

What would be helpful is positive advice and tips rather than a negative stream of commentary. I bought a reasonably priced house in Auckland recently - they are out there, but you have to know what to look for. I hear sweeping statements on here that prevent people from even looking at areas that might be suitable.

I bought a toasty warm house, sea view, 1 hour to CBD (bearing in mind that most people don't actually need to commute to the CBD). It's in South Auckland though, and according to some people, they would rather return to the UK than consider South Auckland as an option. That's a bit like saying, never live south of the river in London. As a former resident of Surbiton, I can assure you there are some nice places south of the river.

Polly 3

Just like to add to this thread please. We are looking and have been looking to buy a house with land in NZ for months. We are returning to NZ from OZ and are in the very fortunate position to have cash in hand, looking around the north island, totally avoiding Auckland and its surrounds.
We are attempting to find a bunch of properties we wish to view and make a trip over, you can do only so much on the internet.
My question to those of you in NZ, do you think these new rules about the deposit have slowed down the market markedly? We started looking in feb and all but one of the properties we book marked is still on the market, we have to buy, not rent on our return as we are bringing dogs with us from OZ. In the main area we are looking, Hawkes Bay, we are lucky to see 3 properties a week get added for sale, thats in our price range of course,everything else is just sitting, two we note have been on the market for over three years, is this just greedy vendors or are people across the prices ranges sitting tight. I did read on Stuff yesterday there is a prediction of a crash in properties prices happened here in OZ too, 2 houses in our huge suburb were sold in 6 months, no one moved houses and we lost over 300,000 value in our home over that period, its almost recovered now thank goodness. I thought the lack of movement could be attributed to it being winter and the general election, reading this thread, I may well be wrong and totally out of touch with whats going on there with the property market, better to do some more homework I think!

MrsFychan

to be honest I think a lot of it is the Agent trying to get bigger pay outs and sellers wanting a lot for their places. The house we bought was originally on the market at 550,000 but we didn't pay that, paid more than we wanted but was still under the RV.
One house we looked at was on the market for over a year, listed at 539, for months then went to auction didn't sell. Agent called us and asked how we was getting on purchasing and asked how much we would offer on it, husband said 470 and the agent said he could get it at that it was then my husband told him we had already bought. The seller had bought the house in 2010 for 525.
I think it all comes down to how quickly people need to sell. we sold for under what we wanted and made a loss but the at the end of the day needed to get out.

Polly 3

Thank you for your reply, this is an interesting thread!

bourbon-biscuit

Hawke's Bay can take a while to shift property, too. And, without meaning to sound rude, it sounds like you will be be buying into the higher end of its market where stuff shifts at even slower rate.

Moving to HB with enough money to buy somewhere special outright should be a wonderful experience - it really is a very special wee place; all the best to you

Polly 3

Thanks bourbon-biscuit, we just can't wait to get there, all our lives we have we have been buying and selling at the wrong time and ended up in the negative. For once we are selling in OZ in a sellers market and buying in NZ in whats looking to us like a buyers market. The average time in our suburb now to sell now is EIGHT DAYS, totally awesome position, I just want to get home to NZ ASAP, so over things here.
I guess I was a little surprised about the Hawkes Bay, the place is a gem, guess I have to look at things through NZ eyes and remember the slower pace, thats one reason why we are moving back after all!!

davros1984

To those who have been critical about my contributions, you are right I should be less bothered (now I have taken action rather than be rudderless and accept my fate.) Well I have, its not top of my radar anymore, hence my posts aren't as regular now. So far my new life is going well, Wales appears to have a lot to offer aswell asbeing laid back.The new job I am enjoying a lot. Incredible opportunities, plenty of work social events, free food, pub lunches, drinks - very different to the workplace I experienced in NZ.

I refuse to take my contributions as an "overly negative stream" when I know it has helped prevent some people fall into a very expensive and unaffordable trap. Some of us do not have the luxury of being like a substantial number of the Middle-classed baby boomer generation or have wealthy family to fall back on. Also for those who didnt know, the exchange rate is around 2nzd to 1gbp,not 3nzd to 1gbp.

Back to facts: Just watched the nz leaders debate.

Only 5% of properties in Auckland are $550,000 or less. 4% of which are apartments.

Just staggering.