NZ Property Investor January 2022

At the beginning of every year we get out the crystal ball and ask our property experts what they foresee in the year ahead. Although we don’t think anyone could have predicted the vertiginous rise in property prices that 2020-2021 brought, it’s always interesting to get people’s informed opinions on the forces that are likely to shape the market in the next 12 months. The general consensus is that 2022 is going to be challenging. With interest rates rising, the possible introduction of debt-to-income ratios, more stringent criteria for loans from banks, and the removal of interest rate deductibility, investors may start to feel the screws tighten. Our experts are predicting everything from a credit crunch (which is already being witnessed firsthand by investors as banks tighten lending criteria), and…

Major changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) that came into force from December 1 are already having a detrimental effect on house buyers. Banks are declining mortgages at a bigger rate after taking a fine-toothed comb to people’s spending habits, missed payments and unarranged overdrafts. Lenders are now forced to trawl through bank statements in detail looking at every aspect of an applicant’s life, including where they shop and what they buy. In some cases rejection can boil down to how many coffees people buy and how often they visit KFC or McDonald’s. AdviceHQ director David Green says this has always been the case to some extent, but banks’ tolerance levels are now significantly reduced. “It means more compliance, more delays, less time spent on quality…

Landlords will save thousands of dollars after the Government’s about-face on heating, ventilation, moisture and drainage rules under the Healthy Homes Standards. It is changing the standards after feedback from the rental sector and harsh criticism by Tailrisk’s economist Ian Harrison, who said the methodology used to set a heating capacity standard in living rooms had serious deficiencies. “The formula and the supporting analysis pushed capacity requirements about 30% above standard industry capacity assessments,” he said. Landlords must provide one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room of rented properties. The heater(s) must meet the minimum heating capacity required. Tenancy Services says after consultation, modelling and testing, changes have been made to the heating standard for new homes built to the 2008 Building Code through…

PROPERTY SCHOOL SEVEN-MODULE ONLINE COURSE, AVAILABLE ON DEMAND. Hosted by Gilligan Rowe & Associates. Includes over 12 hours of videos, articles and quizzes. Special price of $495 for Property Investor magazine readers (usually $595). To register for the discounted price: www.gra.co.nz/ps-offer or phone +64 9 522 7955. For details about the course: https://www.gra.co.nz/events/gra-property-school PROPERTY INVESTMENT AND EDUCATION WEBINAR, AVAILABLE ON DEMAND OR VIA LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR. 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 or phone +64 9 522 7955. PROPERTY WORKSHOP: HOW TO BUY OR INVEST IN AUCKLAND: January 15; Own My Home: First Home Buyers Course: February 19; Property Investment Master Class: February 26-27. Find out more at luciaxiao.co.nz To list your event please contact stephanie@propertyinvestor.co.nz. Deadline…

CoreLogic says there will be a switch to a buyer’s market late next year as the recent ebb in listings turns to a flow. In its latest Market Pulse report, CoreLogic says there could even be a fall in prices. Over the past few months listing flows have recovered and achieved sales have dipped. Since the recent trough, the total number of listings has risen by almost 40%, and is now back up to the highest level since March. “That’s still a low level,” says Kelvin Davidson, CoreLogic’s senior property economist. “The gap to where they were at the same time in previous years is nevertheless steadily closing. It’s conceivable that by the end of the year listings will have recovered to where they were — or even above —…

The Tenancy Tribunal has told a Tauranga property manager she had no right not to report a tenant’s cannabis growing operation to the police. On a routine inspection of tenant Dion Annan’s Papamoa property, a Realty Focus property manager found cannabis plants and growing equipment in three areas of the premises, but decided not to file a report with police because she believed they would have been unlikely to lay charges. Adjudicator R Lee said it would have been preferable to have reported the incident. “It is not for her to assess what action the police may or may not take.” Realty Focus applied to the tribunal for termination of the tenancy held by Annan for unlawful use of the premises and exemplary damages. It was awarded $600. During the…