AFFORDABILITY: There was a sharp improvement in home affordability in June thanks to falling house prices and interest rates, according to the Wizard Home Loans Affordability report out today. The improvement was the biggest in the 6-1/2 years the survey has run and affordability was the best since February last year. The survey, sponsored by Wizard, measures the proportion of a median after tax income needed to service an 80 percent mortgage on the median house price. It shows it took... more>

PRICES: House prices continued to fall in June as industry figures showed sales numbers easing to 16-year lows. Real Estate Institute (REINZ) figures published today put the national median price at $340,000 last month, down 1.4 percent from May and 2.2 percent from a year earlier. June sales were down to 4305, from 4372 in April and 7474 a year earlier. It was the lowest monthly sales total since the REINZ started the current data series in January 1992. Houses were taking an average of... more>

FIVE MILE: Finance company Hanover Finance said today it had instructed security trustee FMH Nominees to appoint a receiver to Queenstown Five Mile Holdings "as a result of un-remedied loan defaults". However, high-profile developer Dave Henderson, who owns Five Mile, said yesterday he was planning to take out an injunction today to prevent the receivership proceeding. Mr Henderson, the subject of a feature film about his four-year battle with Inland Revenue over tax payments, said lender... more>

MORTGAGES: Kiwibank has cut around a quarter of a percentage point off its three-year fixed rate mortgage, as it looks to cash in on home owners refixing loans coming due for renewal. The state-owned bank today reduced most of its fixed rates, with all those from two to five years now below 9 percent. For home owners with at least 20 percent equity in their property the three-year rate dropped 0.26 percent to 8.79 percent, although the two-year rate remained unchanged on 8.99 percent.... more>

PRICES: The average Auckland property price was 1.7 percent lower in June than May at $525,316, real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson says. The 556 transactions last month were well behind the 1000 sales recorded in June last year, but an improvement on the 453 and 515 sales recorded in April and May respectively, the company said today. Managing director Peter Thompson said June was always one of the slowest months in real estate, so it was good to see the overall sales volume up on the... more>

ASBESTOS: Building products with asbestos in them are putting builders at deadly risk, a new report commissioned by the Department of Labour says. The report, obtained by NZPA under the Official Information Act, says many builders would not know asbestos if they saw it. And while local manufacturing of those products ceased in the late 1980s, builders might also be at risk of imported goods from countries where there is no such ban. New Zealand has a ban on importing raw asbestos but no... more>

BUILDING: Wanganui mayor Michael Laws today slammed a move by metropolitan mayors to have the government bail them out of their financial obligations to leaky home owners. "Very simply, the bail-out would be a direct theft from the taxpayer to incompetent councils. It penalises councils like Wanganui who have building and consents staff who actually did and do their job. Laws said it also penalised Wanganui taxpayers, who would be required to pay for the errors and omissions of Auckland... more>

BUILDING: The number of permits issued for new dwellings, including apartments, fell 42.3 percent in the month of May compared with April. The decline was 25.3 percent if apartments are excluded. Statistics New Zealand said a seasonally adjusted 1645 new dwellings were approved for the month, down from a record 2853 in April. The April figures should be treated with caution because there was a sharp increase in apartment consents in the month and the Easter holiday fell differently this... more>

PRICES: House sales plunged in May and values fell in some areas compared with a record month last year, real estate company Harcourts said today. The property market had reached a stalemate with buyers expecting bigger bargains and sellers unwilling to accept lower prices, Harcourts chief executive Bryan Thomson said. A series of Reserve Bank interest rate rises, along with an international credit crunch, global economic concerns and rising food and fuel prices, had achieved a slowdown in... more>

At Mike Pero Mortgages, investment property financing is one of our specialties. Whether you’re considering buying your first investment property or wanting to add to your existing portfolio, we recommend you talk to us first to discuss your options and the best finance package to suit your needs. Why buy an Investment Property? Property is a sensible addition to any investment portfolio. In fact, many New Zealanders favour property investment over other asset types as a form of... more>