Buying in NZ

It might be a silly question but can Aus citizens buy property in NZ?
how does Banking and finance work? cheers

Australians are automatically permanent residents of NZ (unless ex convicts etc) same for Kiwis in OZ.

They can own property.

Permanent Residents in OZ (non OZ citizens), automatically get permanent residency in NZ when they land.

Banking is very much the same .. but it is often easier to borrrow in NZ if you earn overseas.

cheers

RightValue
 
Reviving this thread.

As an Aussie living in NZ (Auckland), with an IP in Perth - I bought a house here in NZ to live in. So I thought I would throw in my thoughts.

Cost to purchase a property here is just incredible without stamp duty. I had the 20% deposit, so was only borrowing 80% and the banks were bidding to get my business. Direct quote from a lending manager at one of the banks was that I was a "primary target".

My exact example for reference is this:

Purchase price of property: NZ$557,000
Lawyer Fees for Settlement: $750
Pre purchase building inspection: $400

Amount of settlement fees paid to me by the bank: $750

So, the bank paid my legal fees, all it cost me was the pre purchase inspection. They also gave me a rather hefty rate discount (.75%) to get my business.

I'm considering buying another property here as I have found tradesman to be very easy to obtain, and well priced, I think I could manage it myself - I know several people that manage their own IPs here.

Any questions about the process, happy to answer. The NZ bank did recognise my Australian income, although I do have NZ income so I'm not sure how they would respond if your income was only Australian.
 
i love nz itself but the agents keep pushing prices onto me when i ask what price is that property; sux hundred and suxty sux thousand dollars, you can settle in suxty sux days...and pay just sux thousand dollars deposit. Everything is handy locally, the bank, shopping centre and schools are just sux kilometres down the road, they all open from sux am to sux pm....

sort of puts me off living there! :)

i love the kiwis!
 
[QUOTE

I'm considering buying another property here as I have found tradesman to be very easy to obtain, and well priced, I think I could manage it myself - I know several people that manage their own IPs here.

[/QUOTE]

you are dead rights about tradies over there...also there are some exceptional timber workers there, super fussy.

interesting post yours, one which i shall investigate further..thanks for posting this nice info on the banking situation there.
 
[/QUOTE]

you are dead rights about tradies over there...also there are some exceptional timber workers there, super fussy.

[/QUOTE]

...such as the Tool Guys (for those outrageous fortune fans ;) )
 
Anyone know if sales history data is readily available over there??

RP DATA function in NZ or similar?

or do we go back to the old method of beating the feet to source the info.

I would have thought NZ privacy info maybe a bit better than ours in Oz??

Feedback most welcome! :)
 
We have some IPs in NZ and no stamp duty and the relative low prices was the intial lure. However same as Tasmania and anywhere small the council rates can be very high (nothing to pay $1500-2000 on a fairly modest place). Ours are fully owned in a superfund so can't comment on borrowing.

NZ tradies... the jury is out. They're not particularly cheap especially plumbers and sparkies. Items like new roofs seem exhorbitant... maybe $11-15k NZD for a new zincalume roof on a modest cottage.

Not hard to achieve 10% but by the time you take off rates, PM it's possibly closer to 7% nett.

Big run up in values since 2003. A lot of places even in the sticks tripled in price. There's a fair bit of potential downside. The exchange rates are favourable at the moment but it has gone from nearly parity out to $1.30 so while cheaper to buy, your return in AUD has been devalued.

We had a 3rd IP. Found difficulty in this town to get decent tenants so got rid of this one after a year. Covered costs and made money just doing so.
 
Australians are automatically permanent residents of NZ (unless ex convicts etc) same for Kiwis in OZ.
RightValue

This is incorrect, NZ'ers who arrived in Oz after 2001 are not automatically permanent residents. They are on"special category visa's" and it is very hard to become a permanent resident and citizen of Oz unless you fit the criteria of being one of the trades Australia is short of and having the right qualifications. It's hard to take when you pay stamp duty and taxes in Oz yet your kids are treated as overseas students when they go to an Oz university.

That's my gripe over, back on to the subject. My mate who is a partner in 3 real estate agencies in Auckland sent me the following info a month ago.

"I managed to find _____ a couple of properties, a two beddie house on half site for around 190k once he spruced it up. Rents for 290 pw and two beedie brick unit in papakura for 176k, needs redecorating rents for 240 (would rent for 270 if tidied up)."

I was very tempted but NZ banks require 25% cash deposit on the NZ property when you are an overseas income earner, and I am not able to do that at the moment. I reckon the stars are aligned for buying NZ real estate at the moment, with the prices, exchange rates and yields. Something you have to be a bit careful of with NZ property now though is you cannot claim depreciation on buildings for tax purposes (changed in recent NZ budget).
 
Big run up in values since 2003. A lot of places even in the sticks tripled in price. There's a fair bit of potential downside.

This is very interesting. Probably the biggest danger for overseas property generally is the risk of capital losses after the deflation of a bubble. Just look at Japan and recently US, Greece, Ireland, etc.

Then we have Australia where in many ways it would appear we are experiencing the same sort of bubble, however something sets us appart. We have economic growth. We engage in production for export.

So the question to ask is: What are NZ producing? How will they be obtaining their GDP growth over the next 20 years?
 
Bene NZ is complicated in some ways. Agriculturally there's been a huge swing from cropping to dairying and vines. Dairy farms are a small fortune to buy in NZ... think millions. We've seen the Sauvignon Blanc glut, a bit like vineyards here, too much production.

There's a few distinct markets in NZ... the big cities Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, middle sized provincals and small towns.

Here's some data fresh from Harcourts NZ. Normally you'll read in NZ of days to sell (from date of listing). And while the figures below are divided into areas, there's more regions than this. For example Christchurch values which might be in the 300,000s are vastly different to Southland where the median price might be more like $150k

Whether or not there's downside is hard to say. What you can't argue with is NZ is a beautiful place with much more diversity in its housing stock and architecture than here. But whether there is the same growth driving NZ hard to say. Certainly there's no mineral boom like in WA which balances things in Australia.

I'm still tempted with NZ as keep seeing properties I like the look of. For affordable Art Deco look no further than NZ.

However what keeps me back in the AUD/NZD exchange rate.. great when buying and you'd have to think @ 1.27/1.30 this is about as low as it can go... and the potential for capital growth. But if you were say to have a neutrally geared or cashflow positive property in NZ, the tenants might over time pay it off for you.


"The New Zealand real estate market continues to remain subdued, as Harcourts’ latest figures show.

While there were indications a Spring rebound would occur, so far that has not eventuated.

Interestingly values have continued to strengthen on the whole however, with the Christchurch market being the exception – though it has outperformed early post-earthquake predictions.

The record-low volume of October settled sales reported by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand recently is reflected in the October written sales data from Harcourts, New Zealand’s largest real estate group.

It should be noted however that a contributing factor to the Harcourts’ figures was the fact that a large number of transactions were rushed through prior to 1 October to save clients the increase on fees resulting from GST rising to 15% on that date.

While September and October have been disappointing, with sales volumes well down on the same period last year, a lift in activity is expected to be evident in the November and December statistics.

Hayden Duncan, CEO, Harcourts New Zealand

Northern Oct 2010 Oct 2009 % Change
New Exclusive Listings 455 449 1%
New Auction / Tender Listings 204 212 -4%
Property on Hand 3281 3414 -4%
Written Sales 321 427 -25%
Average Price $457,849 $505,749 -9%

Harcourt's Northern Region out-performed the drop in the overall market due to the continued strengthening in our market share. The average price drop reflects lower-value homes are starting to sell again.

Central Oct 2010 Oct 2009 % Change
New Exclusive Listings 363 526 -31%
New Auction/Tender Listings 72 86 -16%
Property on Hand 3149 3333 -6%
Written Sales 272 351 -23%
Average Price $300,674 $348,078 -14%

The Central Region is currently a buyers’ market, offering good opportunities for astute purchasers. Stock on hand is tightening and could have a positive impact on prices.

Wellington Oct 2010 Oct 2009 % Change
New Exclusive Listings 342 387 -12%
New Auction/Tender Listings 83 101 -18%
Property on Hand 2680 2325 15%
Written Sales 183 341 -46%
Average Price $326,289 $349,120 -7%

In the Lower North Island higher stock on hand, lower transactions and an average price drop indicates astute purchasers are buying now. Good new listings are coming to the market though and well-priced properties are selling.

Christchurch Oct 2010 Oct 2009 % Change
New Exclusive Listings 574 702 -18%
New Auction/Tender Listings 81 180 -55%
Property on Hand 3188 3614 -12%
Written Sales 352 597 -41%
Average Price $356,671 $380,065 -6%

A faster recovery is occurring in this region than initially expected and we predict that will continue with an increase in activity and prices anticipated to strengthen.

South Island Provincial Oct 2010 Oct 2009 % Change
New Exclusive Listings 316 286 10%
New Auction/Tender Listings 63 60 -5%
Property on Hand 2671 2492 7%
Written Sales 174 243 -28%
Average Price $336,577 $293,308 15%

This has been the best performing of Harcourts’ regions recently, with average prices strengthening and volumes showing some levels of consistency.
 
So the question to ask is: What are NZ producing? How will they be obtaining their GDP growth over the next 20 years?

Mining (though not on the aussie scale!), agriculture, tourism...that's about it. Not much manufacturing left, sounds a bit like another country I know...

I lived in Hamilton for a number of years and would have to argue that it's more than just a nice place to drive through, at least I liked it. Although I remember the locals had a bit of of a running joke about the town, the slogan on the welcome sign as you drove into town read "Hamilton, more than you expect" and in local lingo it was changed to "Hamilton, what did you expect?" :rolleyes:
 
Quick comment on finding tradies in NZ, I use builderscrack (www.builderscrack.co.nz).

Easy for me as I'm here, but I post a job and they contact me, usually have 5-10 tradies contact me within the first day to arrange to quote.

Hey I use them as well. They are generally very good and I agree with the distance it makes it a lot easier (and cheaper) I have found.

cheers
 
Reno kings took a group if people to nz to buy property about 2 yrs ago with a bunch of reasons including no land tax low entry prices pos cashflow properties .
 
NZ may have some possibilities

I am looking closely at this market, the Australian $ is making it very tempting, look at some of these deals ----


http://cashflow.vpweb.com/------Hig...?em_link=29823885-515d-4a9d-92ab-c2a7f6938c38

You wont find anything in Oz that comes close.

NZ property market is flat but there certainly are opportunities for the astute investor to jump in, it will come down to doing the research to make sure u dont purchase lemons.

I am networking at the moment and am thinking over the next 12-18 months is a window of opportunity.

Cheers, MTR
 
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