Tech21

Having looked through the rental section of http://www.dbh.govt.nz/ I am a little mystified of where of the figures quoted in various posts of $400+ /wk for a 3 bed house are coming from. Are there some hidden costs that are not included in the government figures that are included in the posted figures (rates for example) or are the examples in the posts prices for property in city areas? Or are the Government quoted figures wrong?
When I look around Nelson / West coast area (and South Island in general and even round Christchurch) the average prices appear to be <$300 with very few exceptions, some prices well less than $300. Can someone clarify this for me please?

babybella

Rates are not paid by the tennant but by the landlord.
KAZ

Tech21

Many thanks for that, 1 mystery cleared up, several to go.

Herm

Did Kaz really clear that one up for you? I suspect that the $400 you are seeing relate to Auckland rental prices and are not reflective of the rest of the country.

I know for a fact that in Tauranga weekly rentals are around $260 a week.

Martin

the turner family

Hi,

We looked at renting a 3 bed house in Auckland - Howick and surrounding suburbs and we were looking at $400+ a week.

We didn't fancy paying that much to line someone else's pocket so we bought instead.

Hope that helps,

Matt and Andrea

Tech21

Thanks for the info.
When (if) we eventually go, we are looking to go South Island exactly where just depends where there are any jobs on offer. Don't mind travelling to work (got to be better scenery than driving on the M62/M6/M56 and through Manchester or Liverpool) and so are looking for a rental for a few months just to check out the property, then buy one nowhere near a city, done enough of that, and I want one built of brick with a proper roof (slate or tile) with some land (2 acres as a bare minimum). May well be worth buying the land and having one built depending on cost.

scottish

Martin, hope I dont cause offence but what area are you talking about. Any rental below $300 in Tauranga aint worth jack. Based on my opinion of living there.

A typical rent is about $300 odds dependant on what you want from it.

Herm

No offence taken - When I was renting a couple of years ago was paying $220 a week for a 4 bedroom - albeit north of Tauranga. I work with people who today are renting (Outoumotei and Bethlehem) 3 Bed houses and are paying $250 and $280 respectively. Don't know if they went through an agent though.

Maybe the lesson is to shop around...

scottish

Ah Martin get you know. From what I heard things were alot cheaper a few years back. If you look at eves website be jesus theres some shocker prices out there.

My mate had just bought out that Outo place. Totally loving it.

Hows the weather.. go on make us jealous
ps it was 20 degrees here today in Glasgow - kid you not

Herm

Weather has been good all week but about bloody time as it rained most of Sept/Oct. Might even make it to the beach this weekend - oh glorious days.

babybella

Oh yes I did clear that ONE up, I told him he didn't need to worry about paying the rates.
KAZ

Herm

Sorry Kaz - didn't mean to make you mad.

babybella

Thank you - not mad anymore.
KAZ

P18PPS

Hello there
We took the giant leap 5 weeks ago from Solihull to Auckland, we have never been to the country before and had a job organised before we landed. The last 5 weeks have been fantastic, but SUCH an eye opener. Don't believe the myth (like we did to a certain degree) thinking that things are cheaper over here and that the cost of living is 25% lower (certainly not in Auckland anyway). It is a fanatastic place though and we are all loving it (we have 2 daughters age 8 and 1). One of our key drivers coming to New Zealand was to have a better quality of life for our family, mainly for us to enjoy being a family more than we were in the UK. David frequently worked 60+ hours per week so when we arrived we knew that we couldn't be living more than 40 mins away from where he was working. He was used to M42, M40, M6, M1, M25, Oxford and home counties type of travelling which is totally different to Auckland. The existence of motorways is really non-existent so you are totally reliable on "a" type roads which are traffic light heaven, if you strike them at the wrong time you can almost double your journey anywhere.
We have chosen to rent in the eastern bays in Kohimarama (adjacent to Mission Bay and St Heliers) - it is beautiful here with the beach close by and the city just 10 - 40 mins drive away (depending on when you travel). Rental prices are highly dependent on school zones, you pay more for a good school. I looked around with an initial figure of $400 per week as our limit which I soon realised for a 3 bedroomed house with some sort of a garden (with the 2 girls) I had to increase to $550 in order to get something decent. We now have a single level (bunglow), 3 bedrooms, double garage, some sort of a garden, but most importantly sea views from our lounge and 10 mins walk from the beach. Definately worth the extra money!

Good luck - we'd love to know how you get on!

The Phipps family.