News articles

Building consents keep falling - down 9pc in August

30 Sep 2010: The number of consents issued for new homes has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today. read more >>

Quake catalyst for property 'boom': commentator

28 Sep 2010: The Christchurch earthquake could prove to be the catalyst for a recovery in the property sector, but any upturn will be slow and patchy and homeowners should expect things to get worse before they get better. read more >>

Ominous sign for stricken homeowners

26 Sep 2010: Property website Realestate.co.nz says mortgagee sales are on the rise again, and the worst may not yet be over. read more >>

Queenstown least affordable for homes

24 Sep 2010: Auckland and Queenstown have again been confirmed as having the most unaffordable housing for locals. It takes 93.2 per cent of a median income to pay the mortgage on a median-priced Queenstown house bought in August, up from July's 80.4 per cent. In Auckland, it takes 70.2 per cent of a median income to pay the mortgage on a median-priced house bought last month, down from July's 72.3 per cent, the data found. read more >>

Bruce Slane: Concern at land sales to foreigners is not xenophobia

22 Sep 2010: In its editorial "Denunciation of land buying racism spot on" the Herald commended Maurice Williamson's view that opposition to land sales to foreign owners is racist. It went further and gave the Save the Farms group as an example of stirring a wave of "xenophobic scaremongering" because the group wants a moratorium on approval of any sales to overseas companies to allow time for robust public debate. read more >>

Top-end prices take battering in recession

19 Sep 2010: Top-end homes throughout New Zealand have taken a price battering. Only Wellington and Christchurch appear to have withstood the real estate storm which has seen prices fall by as much as 25 per cent. read more >>

Harcourts Market Watch

18 Sep 2010: In August we saw a changing property market place in New Zealand, with further thawing currently underway. As Harcourts' latest figures show, last month new exclusive listings were up nine percent on the same time last year as sellers decided to take action in time for Spring, including a good number in the mid-upper end - which may see more balance in that segment of the market. read more >>

Housing market has bank looking on gloomy side

17 Sep 2010: Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard managed to surprise the markets yesterday after all. read more >>

House sales stay in the dumps during August

14 Sep 2010: Latest house sales numbers released this morning show sales kept falling in August, with the monthly housing price index rising 0.3 per cent. In the three months to August prices measured by the Real Estate Institute of NZ (REINZ) have fallen by 1.2 per cent, while they nudged upwards 0.9 per cent compared to August last year. read more >>

Property market showing stable signs

11 Sep 2010: For some vendors and buyers, the property market is proving difficult to read in 2010. Four leaders of the country's leading property agencies were asked to shed some light on patterns in the market. They concluded the market is showing stable signs with confirmed interest from buyers and sellers for an active spring property market, by Gill South. read more >>

Christchurch Earthquake: New home owners in limbo

10 Sep 2010: New home owners are finding themselves in limbo and at risk as insurers refuse to write any new policies for Christchurch's shaken homes. Hundreds of people with houses purchased before Saturday's quake and due to be settled in the coming weeks are struggling to get insurance cover. read more >>

QV - Buyers cautious as activity remains subdued

9 Sep 2010: Property values across New Zealand have continued the gradual decline seen over the last few months according to the QV residential property indices for August. read more >>

NZ Construction Value hits 18-month high

9 Sep 2010: The value of New Zealand's total building work hit an 18-month high in the June quarter as the construction sector bounces back from a slump. read more >>

Property values in gradual decline

8 Sep 2010: Property values have continued to decline gradually over the past few months as market sentiment remains cautious, according to the August report by QV. read more >>

Earthquake housing shortage to put pressure on Christchurch rentals

8 Sep 2010: Real Estate industry insiders are picking a short-term strain on rental accommodation in Christchurch as people forced to leave their earthquake-damaged homes seek new places to live. read more >>

Auckland property prices fall in August, listings stay low

3 Sep 2010: House prices in Auckland fell during August as the number of properties being listed continued to stall. Figures released today by the region's largest real estate agency, Barfoot and Thompson, showed an average sales price of $510,978 - a 4.4 per cent fall from July and 4 per cent down on August last year. read more >>

Fewer listings fail to clear property glut

2 Sep 2010: Fewer people are selling their homes as uncertainty continues to cloud the New Zealand property sector. read more >>

Housing showing few signs of life

1 Sep 2010: The housing market has failed to show signs of returning to life early in the Spring sales season, according to a report from Realestate.co.nz on listings figures in August. read more >>