Moses2013

I also find it annoying when people only talk about London, but I wouldn't say that house prices are really cheap in the UK.

pippalonghorn

Why is that?

You can pick up an average sized 3 bedroomed semi-detached house with garage and gardens in our village for £120,000. you would be paying maybe 3 times as much as that in NZ and I'm not talking about Auckland either. One of the reasons we returned to the UK was that we could not afford to buy a home in NZ. I didn't want to be a slave to a massive overpriced house that was a couple of hours commute away from work.

Moses2013

It probably just depends on area, what kind of work you do and what kind of lifestyle you're looking for. I know people who have bought affordable houses with decent sized gardens in New Zealand and they don't have to drive for hours. I live in Ireland now and when I compare what I get for my money here, UK properties seem very pricey (even cheap areas). I'm only 20 mins from a city with universities, medical companies, IT firms etc. and it's still possible to buy a 3-5 bed detached house with big garden for under €200K. £120,000 isn't too bad, but as you said it's a semi in a village and villages are always cheaper. Don't get me wrong, I love parts of the UK and there are many great places, but I wouldn't say that New Zealand is expensive everywhere.

Hazelnut

My current house has been purposefully customized to exactly match my needs as a breeder of rare breed ponies and someone who coaches horses and riders. It's a large lifestyle block size with arena, stabling, woodland for biofuel and native wildlife and pasture managed to support wild birds. Fully modernized, double glazing, insulated walls and roof, runs on biofuel sourced on site. It's within a 1hr drive if the main city we work in which has hosted many international events and is considered a cultural and entertainment centre within Europe.
To buy the equivalent in NZ seems impossible as I'm not sure it exists. If I lived on Planet Daydream I'd buy something that is similar and have enough money spare to customize it over time to be equivalent while being within an hours drive of where the work is.
Meantime, on Planet Reality, something similar that is customizable over time, I need 30% more than my finished product house is currently worth if moving to the Christchurch area. Wellington area (Hutt side not Kapiti) I'd need 50% more, Waikato (for Hamilton) 60%. To buy something similar near Auckland would cost 200% of what my UK house is worth.

If I lived in the south east or on the south coast and sold the equivalent of my house down there I could afford to buy the Auckland equivalent and still have cash to spare.
So, to me, housing is the biggest <ouch> with regard to moving but to someone coming from London it's dirt cheap.

Woodlea

I'd say this Family Starter - Realestate.co.nz would be about the same as £120,000 and probably bigger too, nicer climate etc etc

The Weezer

This house is only 111 m2, which is actually on the small side, plus the yard is quite small too. Not much room for the children to play. More important, though, is the quality of the modernisation. Does this house have wall insulation? In my experience houses that have been renovated do not often have wall insulation retro-fitted. The original timber windows would certainly be single-glazed, and the newer aluminium windows will weep, even if they're double-glazed. You'd have to suffer a Dunedin winter in a completely unheated bathroom, too.

I'd be very concerned that the house has been re-clad. It could mean it was in quite a rotten state before it was renovated. We viewed an old bungalow in central Auckland that had been fully "modernised and renovated to a high specification." The original native timber floors had been carpeted, just as in this house. My husband had a look under the house and could see the the floors had a severe borer infestation and looked like they needed replacing, not just carpeting. Of course, the house was commanding central Auckland prices.

I suspect UK houses for a similar price would probably be warmer and drier. I loathed the Auckland winters until we properly modernised our house. What good is a "better" climate if you have to live in a insufficiently heated house? Any kind of renovation work is extremely expensive in New Zealand, and I would say nearly all houses here would be considered do ups to anyone apart from Kiwis, or people from countries with similar housing standards.

In any event, job opportunities would be much more limited in Dunedin, and there really aren't any other cities large enough to provide more opportunities within even a long commute. And then there is the question of comparable salaries...

Woodlea

I'm comparing it to Durham, England not Auckland. 111 m2 is a barn by UK standards. There were other examples. Poster is saying NZ is un-affordable while comparing Durham with AKL.

Moses2013

You can probably find pros and cons anywhere. When it comes to climate, Dunedin would be similar to the UK. I wouldn't say that New Zealand houses are unaffordable and just depends what type of person you are. If you like nature, want space at an affordable price, there are still options in New Zealand. You can build container homes these days and they will have a better energy rating than any cottage in the UK. When I look at Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK is still behind when it comes to housing standards. If you want cheap in the UK, Northern Ireland would be an option and I'm sure there are other affordable locations. Dunedin might be far away from other bigger cities, but even there people make a living and have jobs. Look at St Ives in Cornwall and you'll find it's pricey with no employment.

The Weezer

Actually, I was aware of the Durham comparisons. I never compared Dunedin prices to Auckland, I was focusing on the quality of the house for the price. In any event, for about 60,000 NZD more, you can buy a detached house of the same size as the Dunedin house in Durham, and it does look like it would be much more comfortable than the cold and weepy Dunedin bungalow, plus it has a much larger garden:

4 bedroom detached house for sale in Aden Court, Bearpark, Durham, DH7, DH7

You could easily spend 60,000 NZD or likely more trying to make the Dunedin bungalow comfortable, heated and insulated, so I think the prices are actually comparable.

Anyway, Dunedin is a small, very remote city in a very remote country. Once you're there, you have to drive for hours to arrive at another city. Durham's not far from Newcastle, and has some really lovely national parks in the area, from the looks of it. Hard to make the comparison.

One thing I noticed perusing Rightmove over the years is that the agent's photos don't depend so much on the very misleading wide angle lens. Wide angle lens photos are extremely common in NZ estate agent ads. Makes the rooms look much bigger than they actually are.


Yet people live and work in St. Ives. Unless you're in health care, education, or the service industry/tourism you could say there's little employment in Dunedin too. In any event, building costs are very high in New Zealand, so don't know how much more affordable it would be to buy land and build yourself, unless you really want to live remotely or not mind a long commute to your city job.

Woodlea

You are missing the point, the poster was saying NZ housing is un-affordable based on living in Auckland. So Dunedin is not remote and nor is New Zealand when one is living there, the rest of the world is remote - thank God!

The Weezer

I think New Zealand housing has become very expensive, especially considering the quality, also considering the lack of opportunity and generally lower wages in the smaller cities where the prices are lower than Auckland.

I think you're right about the remoteness. You'd have to really want, and embrace the feeling if you're to be happy in New Zealand. And especially if you don't have the wherewithal to leave if the remoteness becomes wearisome.

pippalonghorn

I only used Durham as an example because I live so close to there now. I could have used Cardiff, Liverpool etc but slightly altered the price.

The house we have bought is a lot bigger than the one on the advert and has more land. We are a small village and so living away from the hustle and bustle does not bother me at all. We looked at properties all over NZ. Our new property cost less than £120,000.

Affordability of houses involves a lot more than just the asking price. You have to factor in wages and the cost of living. We're both earn more than we did in NZ and our cost of living has dropped considerably. All this contributes to being Able to afford To buy a property.

Bo-Jangles

Moses2013

Of course there are many factors, but I'm sure there are also people in New Zealand who earn more than they did in the UK and I'm sure some people in your village will earn less than you do. You can make a living in both countries and we all have different spending habits. There are probably even some locations that wouldn't work for you in the UK, however you've found your location and that's great. There are still plenty of locations in New Zealand where you can find houses (good & bad standard) under $150.000 with land to grow your own fruit and veg. Somebody seeking a more urban life probably won't be happy with the house, so won't appreciate the garden. The cost of living example only works if you want the exact same life in a different country.

Woodlea

Quite! One wonders why folk move to the other side of the world and expect everything to be the same and moan if it isn't. I wasted a couple of hours today peeling the skin off almonds from the almond tree, they were lying all over the garden and paths and annoying to walk on. In the UK almonds came in packets, really annoyed that NZ is so backwards