NZers talk buying a house

7/08/2012 1:25:05 p.m.

Tina wrote:

We had to move towns to afford our first ever own home. We had to buy an older house too. We did this in the last 2 months and its a big move. With a little bit of work we are really loving our new home. Cost us nothing at the moment to make our house look good. It can still be done, you just sometimes have to shift away....

2/08/2012 7:30:35 p.m.

mike wrote:

I own my own two bedroom unit.It's tough when local government raise rates because they want to spend more.Water rates, power, then IRD want more for child support just before your child birthday...it's a srruggle

2/08/2012 8:33:41 a.m.

Mike wrote:

What gives land value?

People.

Only people raises demand, and also adds development and raises the value of land. A piece of land with nobody has no value. In 1840 NZ land was cheap and you could get a lot of land for what seams little today. A musket back then was also a much more expensive item. Over 20 years later Alaska was sold for under $0.02 per acre, and in many ways it was seen as more desirable land than NZ over 20 years earlier! Take the cost of a musket back in 1840 and you find that a single musket truely was worth acres of land! Today with re-writing of history this little value of a musket vs land is deliberately forgotten.

The RMA has held up new housing developments and driven house prices and rentals up through shortage. Labour was warned of this, and decided that higher housing costs and higher rental costs was the way they could reward working NZ. Can't really blame Labour for planning Christchurch. But the RMA has held up Christchurch rebuilding which has held prices higher even with the place still shaking and driving demand and prices down.

Even today, NZ land is cheap with the biggest portion of NZ land still in crown hands, so it has remained undeveloped and much cheaper than say Queen street Auckland where peoples demand has pushed prices sky high, and the buildings have also reached skyward - dont find any new single story dwellings like homes in the centre of Auckland like Queen street.

Want to live in central Auckland? Campbell live had an article on exactly that, a apartment room in central Auckland with shared facilities, and all for $40-50,000. How much does that work out to? It works out to around $50 (interest on purchase price, ie mortage) a week to live in central Auckland. You wont get any parking space with that, so need to use public transport. But still around $50 week sure not that expensive.

1/08/2012 7:52:33 p.m.

Aaron Cook wrote:

Once upon a time land (which was abundant at the time) could be bought with muskets and other trade-able items. Now as populations around the world increase so does the value of land as demand for it increases (they ain't making any more of it). So to looking at the long term picture, it only really ever increases in value over time.

1/08/2012 6:50:28 p.m.

Neil wrote:

We recently sold our house in Auckland for $870k,have moved out of Auckland to Tauranga ,a new house has sea view and everything our old house had except we have $250k left in our pocket,also our insurance premiums on contents and house insurance have dropped by 3rd , why would you live in Auckland with a Mayor dedicated to ripping as many dollars from the rate payers as it is possible, I lived in Aukland for 25 years ,now you cant visit the inner city in an evening ,unless you enjoy drunken louts out of control,Auckland a beautiful city in many ways but to expensive for famlies

1/08/2012 2:57:33 p.m.

Mike wrote:

Housing is more affordable now than it was.

The problem is when someone gets a home, they set targets well above what they are renting. Thats millionaire tastes thats the problem.

If you aim to buy a home similar to what your renting, then it is very affordabe and the mortage costs similar and often less than the rent cost, plus your working towards owning your own asset, ie saving for your retirement.

If take an average smoker, if they didn't smoke at all and saved/put their money into a home, they could in todays value save around $1,400,000 in their lifetime - ie a very good home even today. Thats just the spending on one luxery of smoking that many chose so they can claim they cant afford stuff!

To get ahead you need to spend less, and cutting down luxeries like smoking, drugs, alcohol - just those 3 can save huge amounts for most of those who claim they can't afford a home in NZ!

Lets see some pricing if Campbell Live can manage to add 2+2! Pick a few ordinary rents, and how much the rent costs, then price the same house in what the mortage would cost. With a little picking and chosing you can pay less in mortage than the rental, and still build an asset. Paying more mortage off quicker, is how to get ahead. ie the more you save by not blowing money on luxeries, the faster you can pay off the home.

Start with the rental market online, it has hundreds of houses can work the rental cost, a real estate agent can price the same rental to work out how much value for mortage purposes. If look around is many cases the mortage can be towards 1/2 the rental cost - and the GIMME generation claim its not affordable? Its the GIMME generation can't add 2+2 to work out the cost of rent vs a mortage - product of our education system!

1/08/2012 1:37:04 p.m.

Ruz wrote:

I think the rise in house prices needs to be managed. As I see it it is the real estate industry that continually tries to drive house prices up by recommending to home owners that they set a price which is just above market value. When houses sell for the higher price then a new market leve is set and the upward spiral continues. Because agents are paid a comission as a perecentage of the sale price they have a vested interest in anything that pushes prices through the roof. A capital gains tax on all building sales would sort that nonsense out.

31/07/2012 9:22:48 p.m.

steve wrote:

There are a number of reasons why people cannot afford to buy .Some are definately self inflicted .The older generation had different priorities .I lived at home ,got married bought my first home at 23.Saved when I could, drove an old car and and lived I lifestyle I could afford . Todays youth want the fast cars ,fully accessoried with stereo, mags etc ,the overseas trips or OE experience ,the excessive night clubbing and designer clothes . I never had much of the above but we now have a generation of living for today and worry about the bills tomorrow . However I would acknowledge that student loans and lower incomes have had a significant impact.Days of working extended hours and getting overtime rates have long gone making it lot harder to save ,plus the implemtation of significant government costs have eaten into the disposable income of most New Zealanders.(gst,)Also the number of immigrants arriving into the Auckland housing market has pushed prices up. Middle to low income NZ do not have the incomes to compete with the wealthy and have to settle for second best and are pushed out of the market.

31/07/2012 7:56:09 p.m.

Graeme wrote:

High property prices have been a world wide problem but are falling check out this, it's for AUS but just as applicable here - http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/abs-figures-show-australia-s-housing-price-bubble-is-bursting-steve-keen/201205

31/07/2012 7:36:51 p.m.

Gerry wrote:

10 years ago my grandmother brought a small town house in Mission Bay, Auckland. She brought the house for just over $400k. My family has just had to sell it and it sold for WELL over $700! My comment, the house nearly had a 100% increase - have salaries???!!!