Recapping the highs and lows of 12 turbulent months. It’s officially the last week of the year and yet March 2020 feels just like yesterday. So much of our lives have been affected in strange and unexpected ways since the global pandemic was declared and our markets and economies have been no exception. So what … Read more
First home buyers and investors compete as a record number of homes get snapped up. Businessdesk’s Brent Melville reports. Almost 10,000 houses changed hands last month, a 29.6% increase on last November. Latest data from the Real Estate Institute of NZ showed that was the highest monthly sales in 14 years. The frantic nature of … Read more
Currently, investors are essentially subsidised to outbid homebuyers. Instead, why not give homebuyers a tax cut and make the speculators pay? Have you ever wanted to throw a party but worried no one would come? My wife and I thought of having a party this year to celebrate paying off our mortgage but quickly realised … Read more
For extreme auctioneers, selling houses isn’t a nightmare – it’s a craft. Josie Adams talks to National Real Estate Auctioneering champ Ned Allison about discovering his talent, and what it takes to be a two-time winner. Every year real estate agents from around the country are locked in a room. Their phones are taken, and … Read more
Selling houses is an art. There are the signs, the walk-through videos, and – hardest of all – the copy. What do you write to make someone buy a house? Here are some ideas. There are currently more than 25,000 houses for sale in New Zealand. There are only nine synonyms for “rustic”, and even … Read more
Real estate firms are hanging on to millions in wage subsidies despite a red-hot housing market recovery since June, reports Brent Melville of BusinessDesk. Three of the country’s leading realtors — Harcourts, Bayleys, and Barfoot & Thompson — claimed a combined $8 million in wage support for more than 1,000 employees when pandemic-induced lockdowns were … Read more
New Zealand’s housing market is going ballistic, defying economic forecasts and historic trends. Michael Andrew asks the experts what’s causing the clamour and what it means long term. Six months after Covid-19 first reached our shores, New Zealand’s economy has officially moved into recession. GDP is down 12.2% – the largest drop on record – … Read more
The weight of Covid-19 will be very unequally distributed. Duncan Greive writes about where it will land, and how those it hits might come out from under it. This is the second of a two part series – read the first here There’s a graph I keep thinking about which shows the potential strangeness of … Read more
Buying your first home is confusing, stressful, and a huge financial decision – and nobody knows that better than those who have actually done it. Here’s The Spinoff’s advice, gleaned from sometimes brutal first-hand experience. Buying a home is intimidating. Buying your first home can be terrifying. Once the adrenaline rush from bidding at the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Phil Goff confirms he’ll run for another term as Auckland mayor, Greens unveil members bill with sweeping electoral changes, and real estate agents are giving up. Auckland mayor Phil Goff has finally confirmed he’ll be seeking another term, and hasn’t shied away from the challenges Auckland … Read more
Is it a real estate ad if you see more of the Dancing with the Stars judges than you see of the house? Our DWTSNZ power-ranker Sam Brooks investigates. I remember the old days, when people used to look at pictures of houses in the newspaper and then go along to open homes and hope the house … Read more
There’s an art to visiting open homes. Rebecca Stevenson looks behind ‘the vibe’ and smell of baking as she searches for a new house. I’m not exactly in the market for a new home, but I am in the market for open homes. Let me explain. We own our home. Our home is a dump … Read more