NZ Property Investor October 2020

It may not be everybody’s cup of tea but, as a bona fide political junkie, I love a good election. I have done since I was a kid watching the drama of the 1980s. Putting the spectacle of endless walkabouts, determinedly smiling politicians and strange theme song choices to the side, there’s something about the atmosphere that does feel electric. The campaign promises, the televised debates, the enlivened public discussion of issues normally overlooked — they all create the promise of change. And even if, as is often the case, that change is not necessarily delivered in the format you want, for a while at least you can believe in brighter days ahead. Strangely, despite having followed more than enough elections to be pretty cynical, I still get caught up…

Turnaround time turmoil continues, with the big four banks taking anywhere from a week to three weeks to process mortgage applications. Additional questions about future financial security, more forms to complete, and mortgage deferral requests have been blamed for the slowdown. SuperCity Mortgages’ Joel Oliver says turnarounds of about ten working days are common. He described the delays as “embarrassing”. Loan Market’s Craig Pope says “a two to three-week turnaround” was the norm at the moment and that borrowers are subject to intense scrutiny. “No matter how thorough we make an application, they [the banks] inevitably come back with a question or two, sometimes having not properly read through what has been sent. Or asking mundane questions, like ‘what is a 43-year-old’s exit strategy for retirement?’” As soon as they…

That’s according to CoreLogic senior property economist Kelvin Davidson. He says CoreLogic’s latest Buyer Classification data shows a continued appetite for property from mortgaged investors, who accounted for 26% of property purchases nationally in July and August combined. While this continues their rising trend of the past few years, it’s not hard to find current reasons for this. “Low and falling interest rates on term deposits are causing them to look for yields elsewhere; it’s cheap to borrow; and the temporary removal of the LVR speed limits has allowed more investors to enter the market with less than a 30% deposit.” Digging a little deeper into the mortgaged investor category reveals the real impetus for the overall rise in mortgaged investors’ market share has recently come from smaller players with…

Your monthly round up of property investment related events around the country. RONOVATIONZ “ON THE ROAD” OTR October 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. Join Ron and the team behind the scenes as they spend the day looking at properties, learn hands-on where the best suburbs are, how to add value and much, much more. Spaces are limited and by invitation only - interested? Email your details to info@ronovationz.com or call 0226 888 888, 9:30am to 3:30pm. PROPERTY INVESTOR WEBINAR (ONLINE EVENTS ONLY) South Island, October 7, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, October 14, Wellington, October 21, Auckland/Northland, October 28. Bookings via https://positiverealestate.co.nz/property-investment-seminar/ PROPERTY INVESTMENT & EDUCATION LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR, Wednesday October 7, 7:30pm. Hosted by Gilligan Rowe & Associates, free to attend. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.gra.co.nz/events/property-investment-seminars…

The NZ Property Investor website, landlords.co.nz has had a busy month. Here are the top five most-read stories. 1 Don’t miss your $5,000 deductions Residential landlords, take note: the clock is ticking on the Covid-19 related increase to the low value asset write-off threshold, writes property accountant Anthony Appleton-Tattersall. 2 Expect house prices to keep rising House prices are set to keep going up rather than down, one of the big banks now says – after reversing its earlier predictions of price declines 3 Where are properties selling most above CVs Auckland’s residential property prices might be on the rise again, but it’s actually the region where properties are currently selling closest to their CV*. 4 Online rent talk attracts comcom attention Think it’s okay to post about increasing rents…

Recent exchanges in online forums for landlords included some online posts asking what others planned to do when the Government’s rent increase freeze ended on September 26. This prompted a complaint to the Commerce Commission which then wrote to landlord representatives to alert them to their concerns. That’s because the discussion included comments suggesting the whole group could band together to increase rents – and, if any such attempt was to occur, that could constitute price fixing under section 30 of the Commerce Act 1986. A Commerce Commission spokesperson says landlords can be in competition with each other for the supply of rental properties and can be carrying on a business in trade. “Landlords should make independent pricing decisions about rent and rent increases to avoid breaching the cartel prohibition.…