Kiwi-Irish

Hiya.
Can anyone advise us as to which areas are best avoided on the North Shore? I've noticed some areas to be cheaper than others, for example Beach Haven etc. and I'm wondering are they bad areas? and if so, what makes them bad? How about Torbay, it looks a little way out, is that a nice area? What do people recommend?

Also, does anyone know if the houseprices are dropping on the North shore, or even Auckland in general? is it risky to buy now, will they drop more?

have a good weekend all!!

ukkiwi

Well if want to be near the beach and you've got the cash Takapuna would be my choice - then work your way North up the east coast bays depending on your budget, Torbay being the cheapest.

Kiwi-Irish

Yeah? I can see on the map that takapuna has a nice lake around it. Well I don't know about affording that to be honest - we've got around $550,000 to spend, so hmmm, will have to see.

Bo-Jangles

Torbay is nice, but you have to choose carefully, some bits of it are older and less desirable, but in the main there are nice houses. The only way to get an idea is to drive around some of the roads and you will soon spot the ones you want to avoid. It is very hilly and a few have had some problems over the past two winters with landslides, due to poor building practices. It's also an area rife with 'leaky house' syndrome but not a problem if you know what to look for and get building surveys done.

It has a bit of a reputation (sheer snobbery) among Aucklanders of being a less desirable (i.e. more affordable) part of the North Shore. No substantiated reasoning behind it at all, other than being the furthest North you can get from the CBD and still be in Auckland and Kiwis have major issues with commuting very far, compared to us Europeans. 45 minutes to get to work is nothing new to me and not a problem. It is still possible to get a full size section in Torbay (800+ sqm), swith some of the much famed 1/4 acres are still available.

It has a good primary school at Long Bay, it's the last suburb North of Auckland and to my mind a good and affordable choice. It's very near to Albany where there is a huge shopping mall and quite frankly if you live around there it is quite easy to avoid having to ever visit Auckland itself (unless you want to).

Takapuna is overated, very expensive, the houses are mostly on sub-divided 450 sqm sections and very close together and although a nice place, the town is great for eating out and the market and will only take you about 20-25 minutes to get there from Torbay - so you can enjoy the facilities, shops and amenities without paying the exorbitant costs of living there.

Some info on Torbay http://www.torbay.co.nz/index.htm

Soppydot4

We live on the Shore, Chatswood to be precise and we really like it.

Rustie

Ummm, i think you mean Torbay is the last suburb North of North Shore not Auckland (although wouldn't that be Longbay??), as Auckland goes MUCH futher North???

I would take it back a step further and decide what you want from an area; shops, people, land, beach, bush, etc.....

On the North Shore the 'poorer' (or cheaper) areas are Birkenhead and some areas of Glenfield, where you can probably find place for around $300-350k. The higher price bracket isn't anything to do with the area in my opinion, but the placement of the area, for example Devonport is the dearest because its nearest to CBD (although lovely) BUT has serious problems with traffic due to one road in and out of the place (it does have a ferry though). Takapuna has great shops, beach plus is the next closest to CBD with excellent public transport.

Brown's Bay is expensive due to there being a couple of high decile rating schools in the area.

Hibiscus Coast is beautiful, with a beach on every corner, and certainly improving on facilities.

Then you have the more 'lifestyle' properties further North-North-West, like North Albany, Riverhead, Coatesville, Dairy Flat and going up towards Waiwera.

Kiwi-Irish

Well thats great - thanks everyone for their input, will take that onboard. How are the property prices holding up there on the North Shore - I notice heaps of houses are "for auction" - does this mean its a good time to buy? or do houses normally just mainly get auctioned? ... can you see them dropping further? we'd like to buy here before we leave and get something rented out, so that we can take advantage of a cheaper houseprice - maybe a mortgagee sale or something - are they auctioned too?, or do you have to "know someone who knows someone".

lapsed kiwi

Prices have come down from their late '07 peak by probably around 10%. Opnions vary on whether they will go down more - probably depends on the overall recession, unemployment etc
There are some real bargains around, all well advertised. Auctions are more normal here than in UK, but probably more now than normal, too

Kiwi-Irish

Cool.

ukkiwi

After viewing loads of houses I wouldnt buy without looking at it - what looks good on a website doesnt mean it'll a decent place inside. NZ houses are mainly wooden so can be literally falling apart. Many NZ estate agents are pushy commision based sales people not like the lame excuse for agents in the UK. This can be used to your advantage but can also be a pain in the ass when they keep calling.

Maybe you could use a house finding company to do it - if that exists (business idea for someone if it doesnt!)

Littletoe

True. So true. At the end of the day, agents do tend to have the full range and the knowledge, its the whole rock and the hard place, devil and deep blue sea, errrm, can't think of anymore! Open2 view is awesome and currently sits on the computer most of the time, but I agree that some places look awesome and they aren't or vice versa, although laws governing touch ups are a lot more strict over here. From personal experience, poorer areas are harder to indentify than in the UK. I do believe the ability to judge a rough area comes from time here. I'm a big advocate of renting first, find your feet and then look to buy. That said, there's no doubt that its a buyers market here! I'm drunk - did this all make any sense?

Littletoe

Oh, my Mother in Law owns a property in Torbay, so reality is, yes the devil is very much alive and well. She resides full time in Hawkes Bay though, so I do believe that could be hell on earth - god knows the wine there is addictive, mmm...mmmmm....The blood of satan tastes good!

Bo-Jangles

Can you say that again? It's a little confusing, you are planning to buy here in NZ or the UK before you leave?

If it is NZ, you CANNOT be serious! Please DO NOT even think about it!


Mortgagee houses are usually auctioned as a matter of course, the banks just want to quickly recover as much of their money as possible.

ukkiwi

No

Kiwi-Irish

Well to explain further (sorry it probably was a bit of a ramble), we live in London now, but while we can't really justify leaving London right at the present moment due to the downturn in the market, hence our house price drop, we thought we could capitalise and buy a house in Auckland while we're waiting, at obviously, a "cheaper" price (due to the downturn there). Rent it out, and when we get to Auckland eventually no doubt the prices will be up somewhat and we would have benefitted by buying it earlier when it was cheaper. We were just going to rent it out until we get there so its paying for itself. I was planning on sending family members to view the house before buying anything. I know how deceptive photos can be, I've learnt the hard way with staying in hotels - look great on the website, but a dump when you get there.

[If it is NZ, you CANNOT be serious! Please DO NOT even think about it!]

Why?