Why NZ won't follow Australian property downturn
With house prices now falling significantly in Australia, the inevitable question is beginning to arise: “will the downturn spread across to NZ?” We’re not convinced that it will, for three main reasons.
• First, NZ does not generally have an oversupply of property of any type or in any region. Indeed, our largest city of Auckland has the opposite problem: a large shortfall of housing, which is propping up values even though property is relatively unaffordable in our biggest city. By contrast, it is widely accepted that there are too many apartments in Sydney and Melbourne, and this is dragging down prices. So-called settlement risk (where a buyer who purchased off the plans some time earlier suddenly walks away from the transaction) is a growing problem for some of these large-scale developments.
• Second, NZ is yet to see the same increases to mortgage rates that other countries are seeing, including Australia. In fact, although there are now signs that it might be ending, the banks here have recently engaged in a “rate war” with borrowers enjoying some pretty sharp fixed-rate deals in recent weeks. On a related point, about 80% of mortgage debt is on fixed interest rates in NZ, giving borrowers time to adjust their finances in advance of an interest rate increase being pushed through to their mortgage. That is in stark contrast to Australia, where floating rates dominate.
• Third, NZ’s regulators have arguably been much more proactive than Australia’s in curbing the riskiest lending practices. Interest-only lending is more controlled in NZ, and it’s also easy to forget that we’ve actually had the LVR restrictions (in one form or another) here for five years now. This has put our mortgage market on a surer footing than Australia To be fair, none of this precludes a housing market downturn here in NZ at some stage in the future. But for now, and with the labour market a huge support for property, we’re confident that Australia’s problems won’t be replicated in New Zealand for the foreseeable future.
Article by Kelvin Davidson
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
-
49.7% Yes
-
48.4% No
-
1.9% Other - I'll share below
Tai Chi October - December 2024
Hi, I'm Andrew Hardwick, Tai Chi Instructor and member of NZ National Tai Chi Chuan Association Incorporated (NZNTCCA). The name of my wellness-focussed Tai Chi class is Not Strictly Tai Chi. The quirky name is a humorous twist on the name of shows like "Strictly Come Dancing", and from the fact that (a) I'm not strict and (b) If I see an exercise I think would provide a health benefit to my Tai Chi students, I will add it to my class offerings.
My Upper Hutt venue is Te Kupenga o Rongomai - Maidstone Sports Hub. Classes are in school term times only, and are open to all ages.
So far in 2024 we've had ages ranging from Mums attending while their kids are at school, through to retired people looking for healthy exercise.
No experience necessary. Experienced and beginners equally welcome
School Term 4 classes will be on the following dates
Wednesday evenings, from 7pm - 8pm
October 16th
October 23rd
October 30th
November 6th
November 13th
November 20th
November 27th
December 4th
December 11th
December 18th
Thursday mornings, from 10am - 11am
October 17th
October 24th
October 31st
November 7th
November 14th
November 21st
November 28th
December 5th
December 12th
December 19th
Enquiries welcome on 021 153 2508
Andrew Hardwick - Tai Chi Instructor
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Loading…
