Wellington homes outpace NZ market’s spring fling

Home buyers in Wellington continue to pay record prices – and the region’s property market shows no signs of slowing, according to the Trade Me Property Price Index. In September, the country’s average asking price was up 6.2 per cent on a year ago, to $645,250. In Wellington, the asking price rose 12.3 per cent over the year to $593,250. ‘‘Property prices in the capital have increased almost $115,000 or 24 per cent in 24 months,’’ Trade Me Property head Nigel Jeffries said. Prices recovered some lost ground in Auckland, with a 2.6 per cent rise on last year to an average $917,150. Waikato also broke the record, with the average asking price up 4.7 per cent on a year ago to $553,650. Horse racing clubs have won a High Court case that will allow them to claim GST on stakes prize payments for the benefit of horse owners.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing company secretary James Dunne estimated the amounts involved were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and would be a helpful boost to an industry under pressure.

If the ruling is not appealed by the Inland Revenue Department it may also apply to dog racing.

The actual numbers of people involved and the potential amount of money was yet to be determined exactly, Dunne said.

‘‘There aren’t a lot of other industries that make payments in this way. We see it as a way of putting money back into the industry, and it also brings the payment system into line with Australia,’’ he said.

‘‘Inland Revenue has approached this in a responsible way. They agreed to us using the Canterbury Jockey Club as the plaintiff in a test case.’’

High Court Justice Helen Cull identified two technical points to be addressed – whether horse riders and trainers supplied services to the club, and whether