Property Market stories
City-centre footfall is rebounding, with new mobility data hinting at a steadier office market and a faster retail and tourism recovery.
Investor activity may stay buoyant through the 2020 election, with Colliers saying housing policy shifts have usually had only a limited effect.
Property activity is likely to soften as recession, rising unemployment and a spring listings surge test demand in coming months.
House prices and sales could weaken in September unless the Government extends mortgage deferrals as the wage subsidy ends and election looms.
House prices and sales have climbed to four-year highs in New Zealand, despite earlier fears of a post-COVID downturn.
New app Yelsa, dubbed the Tinder of real estate, connects sellers with buyers in New Zealand, potentially saving thousands in fees and marketing costs.
Property values have already slipped nationwide, with tourism-dependent centres like Queenstown hardest hit as the recession starts to bite.
Sales momentum remains firm in Auckland, with first-home buyers and investors still active despite claims the city has tipped into a buyers’ market.
Lower deposit rules and weak bank returns are drawing small investors into housing, helping keep prices elevated across New Zealand.
Smaller homes may offer investors better returns as weaker price growth puts rental yield back in focus amid uncertainty, CoreLogic says.
Property sales jumped in May as lockdown eased, but volumes remained 46.6% below a year earlier and days to sell hit record highs.
Affordable townhouse projects in Auckland will get a lift as the non-bank lender commits GBP £75 million to new residential developments.
Auckland’s housing market has held up, with prices little changed after lockdown despite sales volumes halving in May.
Lower deposits and record-low borrowing costs are giving first-home buyers their strongest opening in more than a decade this winter.
With mortgage rules easing, the Government is being urged to soften New Zealand's foreign buyer ban to help revive property sales and investment.
New Zealand house prices climbed to a record high in April even as lockdown froze the market and sales volumes plunged 78.5%.
Buyers in Auckland’s Belmont are being offered sustainably built terraced homes with electric bikes as New Zealand eases property viewing restrictions.
New Zealand commercial rents and capital values are expected to keep falling as occupiers and investors stay cautious amid coronavirus uncertainty.
Easing loan-to-value rules is only part of the fix, with commercial landlords warning wider support is needed to prevent a deeper downturn.
First-home buyers could face lower deposit hurdles as the Reserve Bank weighs scrapping mortgage loan-to-value rules for a year.
