Property investors head south
The home of the scarfies has become a new haven for property investors, as buyers struggle to come up with house deposits in other areas around the country.
The average house value in Dunedin sits at $354,133, making the southern city the new hot spot for investors who are finding it easier to buy a house there, new figures show.
Duncan Jack, a Dunedin registed valuer with Quotable Value (QV), said there had been no sign of the traditional Christmas period slowdown in the market.
‘‘Value levels continue to steadily increase; sales activity levels also remain strong and properties selling quickly,’’ he said.
‘‘There is anecdotal evidence at the end of last year of multiple offer scenarios and high numbers at open homes continuing to be commonplace.’’
QV national spokeswoman Andrea Rush said: ‘‘This is likely to be due to the fact the Dunedin housing market offers a much lower entry level and price point than the other main centres, thus it’s easier for investors to find a 40 per cent deposit.’’
Meanwhile, house prices in Wellington continue to outpace those in Auckland, albeit at a slightly slower rate.
House values in the capital have risen 20.5 per cent year-onyear, taking the region’s average price to $574,410.
QV registered valuer David Cornford said the effect of the November earthquake ‘‘appears to have largely disappeared in the housing market’’.
‘‘[However,] many vendors still haven’t had time to catch their breath, with many planning to hold off listing their property until [well into] the new year.
‘‘Strong prices are still being achieved and property values continue to increase, albeit at a slightly lower rate.’’
The investor market had slowed, though only marginally, since the middle of the year with the introduction of LVR (loan-tovalue ratio) restrictions, Cornford said.
‘‘However, first-home buyers remain very active and seem to be taking advantage now there are fewer investors in the market.’’
In Auckland, house values have increased 12.2 per cent year-onyear – the city’s slowest rate since January last year.
QV Auckland general manager Jan O’Donoghue said activity and demand in the market had continued to slow during December.
‘‘This comes on top of the slowing in the market brought on by the introduction of the new LVR changes in the last quarter of the year, which has led to price drops in some sectors of the market,’’ O’Donoghue said.
‘‘With interest rates set to rise further during 2017, it appears some investors are choosing not to buy more property as they have lower expectations of potential capital gains during 2017.’’
Nationally, the average house value now sits at $627,905 – an increase of 12.5 per cent over the past year.
More Kiwis buying ethical
More Kiwis are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainable and ethical products. About $379 million Fairtrade products have flown off the shelves in New Zealand and Australia during the past year, an increase of 17 per cent. These figures reflect a recent Colmar Brunton report in which 71 per cent of Kiwis said they were willing to pay more to get the best organic, sustainable and ethically produced products. In addition, 83 per cent said they stop buying a company’s products if they heard about them being irresponsible or unethical, and 72 per cent said it is important for them to work for a company that is socially and environmentally responsible. Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand chief executive Molly Harriss Olson said the survey reflected how far the Fairtrade movement had come over the past decade.
Death in the Beam industry
Parker Beam, who carried on his family’s historic bourbon-making tradition as longtime master distiller for Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, died on Monday aged 75. He had been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Beam’s career as a whiskey maker spanned more than half a century at Bardstown-based Heaven Hill, a family owned and operated distilled spirits company and maker of the popular Evan Williams brand. Beam was responsible for distilling and aging Evan Williams and other Heaven Hill whiskeys. ‘‘He was a true industry giant long before the current bourbon renaissance,’’ said Max Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Brands. As a grandnephew of Jim Beam, Parker Beam was born into a family that traces its whiskey-making roots in Kentucky to 1795, when Jacob Beam set up his first still.
Correction
An article yesterday incorrectly attributed the quote ‘‘We would encourage DairyNZ to concentrate its resources into addressing the very real problems of river degradation’’ to the Advertising Standards Authority, when it was said by Greenpeace. The error is regretted.