The number of sales of dwellings including apartments in Waitakere City for August was 284. There were 11 sections sold. The median selling price was $762,000. The average days to sell was 37.

Capital Gains August 2012 – 2017 Median Prices

Green Bay            64.3%

New Lynn             86.7%

Royal Heights     109.2%

The number of sales of homes in Waitakere City for August was 284, this was up from last month. Prices also increased by 3.8% over July prices. These figures reflect increased prices and sales numbers across Auckland as a whole. Sellers are not willing it seems to sell below the prices they saw similar properties to theirs sell for a few months ago. There is little doubt that the shortage of houses is getting worse in Auckland as demand is exceeding the rate of building new ones.

On that basis prices would be expected to rise. Factors likely to hinder price rises however are (1) the tight lending requirements from banks mainly  because of the LVR (loan to value ratio) restrictions imposed by the reserve bank. (2) A change of government as a Labour led government would:

A. Restrict immigration which would reduce demand and slow many sectors of the economy such as hospitality and horticulture which are already short of workers and rely heavily on temporary immigrants / seasonal workers.

B. It is clear that there are not enough construction trades workers and immigration restrictions would prevent more houses been built.

C. Capital gains tax rise on any rental house purchase would mean less buyers for rental properties so prices would be inclined to fall. At the same time a sever shortage of rental properties could ensue. This rental shortage would tend to drive up rents but the government could well put restrictions on rent increases.

D. It looks likely that when a deceased estate property is sold it would not then be classed as a family home and so could be subject to capital gains tax. This is what people are calling an inheritance tax. If that became the case a properties market value would be less. Nothing is certain in life and this is especially true of the 2017 general election.

Do you want to know the value of your property? Its probably worth more than you think. Contact me for a free no obligation value update.

Best wishes,

John Goodrum

Licensee Agent REAA 2008

021945140

thelegendofthewest@gmail.com

Welcome to the thirty-third edition of the West Auckland monthly Residential Landlords Newsletter.

I am a landlord myself and have been for over 30 years. I currently own rental properties in South Auckland, the North Shore and of course West Auckland. Being a high preforming Real Estate Agent (top 1% in New Zealand) for over 26 years and always working in West Auckland I know the real estate market and the rental market very well.  

In this and future newsletters I hope to provide ongoing up to date information relevant to landlords who own rental properties in West Auckland.  

Regular features will include: 

• Current sale prices
• Current mortgage rates
• Current rents
• A monthly suburb spotlight review
• A relevant feature article each month

 Source REINZ

Source – J Goodrum – Internet search

 Source NZ Government building & housing 

Source NZ department of statistics 

The Benefits of a Regular Home Inspection

There are very few rental properties in West Auckland with a market value of less than $500,000, that’s half a million dollars! 

Few, if any West Auckland landlords will be driving a car worth $500,000 yet they would consider it foolish not to have their car maintained and serviced on a regular basis, even if it cost 1 / 10^th of the price of their rental property. So why it is that most don’t have a regular professional home maintenance inspection on their much more valuable rental property?  

Beyond cleaning and painting most landlords only fix problems as they arise. At that point the cost to fix could be many times the cost that would have been required to maintain the property before it needed fixing. Let me give you an example. A small rust hole in a roof may mean that water drips into the ceiling over a period of weeks or months until the ceiling falls into the lounge. 

What happened was that the un-noticed water was soaked up by the loft insulation which became heavier and eventually saturated until the gib ceiling became soaked, lost its strength and collapsed into the lounge. The repair cost is now substantial – probably several thousands of dollars. What is now required to repair? 

1. Cleaning up the mess and drying the lounge carpet.
2. Removing the insulation from the loft and paying “tip” fees to dump it.
3. Drying out the loft.
4. Installing a new gib ceiling.
5. Gib stopping and sanding a new ceiling.
6. Gib sealing and painting the new ceiling.
7. Possible light fitting electrical repairs.
8. Installing new loft insulation.
9. Fix the hole in the roof. 

A regular say 5 yearly professional home inspection would pick up such potential problems that could then be maintained at a fraction of the repair cost. The typical cost of a professional home inspection depending on the size of the house would be $400 – $800. That is $80 – $160 per year if done every 5 years. A very good investment that could save thousands, a lot of inconvenience and possible lost rent. For a good home inspector look online at www.nocowboys.co.nz/ and check out the reviews. 

Until next time,
Best wishes,

John Goodrum
Licensee Agent REAA 2008
021945140
thelegendofthewest@gmail.com
09 838 8895