Selling your home is about more than putting a sign in the yard. Buyers form opinions quickly, and the way your home looks, feels, and flows can have a real impact on both interest and final price. The good news? You don’t need a full renovation to make a big difference. Here’s how to prepare…
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Buying your first home is exciting – but it can also feel overwhelming. This friendly guide breaks down the process for first-time homebuyers. We’ll cover everything from figuring out your budget to the moment you get the keys. WHAT CAN YOU AFFORD Buying a home starts with knowing what you can comfortably afford. Before you…
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Buyers love storage. When they walk through a property, they’re always checking the cupboard spaces in the kitchen and bathrooms, and the bedroom closets. “Stowing stuff” is a consistent theme with today’s buyers. Sellers who fail to realise this often pay a penalty of failing to secure offers for their property. One great way to…
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A return to stable value growth suggests that a decision to sell your property in 2024 will deliver a predictable result, avoiding the boom-bust behaviours we’ve witnessed over the past three years. Predictions of price growth around 2% to 3% this year will deliver a good return on the back of a surprisingly strong 8.1%…
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For only the third time in the country’s history, a National State of Emergency was recently declared, to help in the response to Cyclone Gabrielle. The declaration applies to Northland, Auckland, Tairāwhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay CDEM Group areas, and the Tararua District. “A National State of Emergency gives the National Controller…
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Property buyers are in an increasingly strong position, with vendors reacting to the cooling market by lowering their asking prices. Between January, when the market peaked, and September, the national average asking price fell 7.2%, from $992,659 to $921,187, according to realestate.co.nz. That shows a willingness by vendors to lower their expectations if they want…
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First home buyer market share has reached its highest level in recorded history, according to the most recent data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. First home buyers were responsible for 20.8% of the $5.4 billion in new residential mortgage lending activity that occurred in August. That is their biggest market share since the…
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Residential construction costs are accelerating at a record pace, according to the latest CoreLogic Cordell Construction Cost Index. Home building costs rose 3.4% in the September quarter and 9.6% in the year to September – both records. The Cordell index reflects the rate of change in the cost to build a 200sqm three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-storey,…
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One of the big reasons to use mortgage advisers, rather than go direct-to-lender, is because they give you more choice. And one big way in which advisers offer more choice is by including non-bank lending institutions on their home loan panel. As the name suggests, non-bank lending institutions do offer loans but don’t have a…
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As interest rates rise, it’s possible New Zealand will experience an increase in ‘mortgagee sales’, which presents both opportunities and risks for buyers. A mortgage sale is when a borrower defaults on their mortgage, causing the lender (i.e. the mortgagee) to seize and sell the property. For buyers, the big upside to acquiring a home…
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