r/NZProperty

Our September Property Report shows the average asking price for a property in Auckland has fallen below the $1million mark for the first time in six years. 

What’s more, the average asking price of $993,562 is more than $280,000 below the city’s peak back in January 2022, when the average asking price was over $1.2million ($1,274,829 to be exact). 

The data continues to be interesting because 3,500 new listings came onto the market in Auckland in September, which is 7.7% more than the same time last year, and total stock rose 13.8% to 13,958 homes. 

All of this is creating the most buyer-friendly market the city has seen in years. 

Does sub-$1 million feel like the market is finally opening up, or are the homes you actually want still well out of reach? 

I just came back from a family gathering where I met up with some old friends, and we ended up talking about a lot of things. That was where I heard some of my developer friends explaining how difficult it can be to get their projects funded, while at the same time, there are investors sitting on cash looking for decent opportunities.

Obviously, the risk is not the same, and investors are not going to put money into every development.

But after we finished talking, a few questions came to my mind. Is the problem partly the way these opportunities are packaged?

Would a more transparent structure showing the underlying asset, development economics, ownership, risks, cash flows, and investor rights make it easier to connect capital with good projects? Or is the real bottleneck simply that property development is too risky right now?

Would you sell your house with an issue that will cause the next owners problems in the long run and hope the inspection misses it, or would you address the problem first at a huge cost out of your pocket (or at least disclose the issue to potential buyers?)

What would you do if put in this situation?

Hi all!

My wife and I will be re-fixing our mortgage for the first time at the end of November and we feel pretty lost. We are also in the process of swapping advisors since we did not find our current advisor's advice to be clear nor helpful. We will also meet with BNZ to get more information about our options but with this post I am seeking more general advice about re-fixing.

• We currently live in a new build in Papamoa in a $809,990 house
• Our current mortgage balance is $710,895
• Current fixed rate is 5.24%

We are paying a LEP of 0.75% at the moment. By the end of the current fixed term we'll have a balance of $708,200. By then our LVR will be about $19,000 shy of reducing out LEP to 0.35%.

We can make that extra payment by then although we'll only have about $5,000 left as an emergency deposit.

It has been one year since we purchased the home and it does not seem that its value has changed much seeing house prices around us; so, new valuation might not change much our situation.

These are the current rates for us:

Your fixing option	Current base rate	+0.75% LEP	+0.35% LEP
6 months	4.89%	5.64%	5.24%
1 year	5.19%	5.94%	5.54%
18 months	5.29%	6.04%	5.64%
2 years	5.35%	6.10%	5.70%

I do realise this is a crystal ball question; however, is there a "strategy" you guys follow? are there any good predictors of what might happen in the near future?

I much appreciate any reply!

I'm going from long term home Ownership to renting for a year or two while the market is flat.

Most rentals require landlord references.

What are some good alternatives for someone who hasn't had a landlord for 17 years. Can I get a letter from the bank saying I've never missed a payment?

Its hard to show you have kept a house well maintained when there have been no inspections.

Hi all,

Currently conditional on a place and pending builder inspection report. Having second thoughts on the place after a little more research. If the builder report comes back fine and I still want to pull out of the deal how feasible is this?

Tia

first time buying a house with a septic tank, I’ve lived with them so kind of understand how older septic systems work and that they need to be periodically pumped out.

1975 build.

as part of my pre purchase building inspections would it be a good idea to get a plumber to check on the septic tank?

what can go wrong with septic tanks that I should be aware of?

I'm testing a free tool for NZ homeowners who are thinking about selling but aren't necessarily ready to contact an agent yet.

The idea is to help with the stage where you might be wondering things like:

• Should I sell first or find my next home first?
• What costs do I need to understand?
• What should I prepare before speaking to agents?
• How do I compare agents when I'm ready?
• What should I actually be doing if I'm still 6–12 months away?

You answer a few questions about where you're at and what's holding up the decision, and it gives you a simple selling plan with practical next steps.

There's no signup, email, phone number or exact address required, and nothing is sent to an agent.

I'm trying to work out whether this is genuinely useful before developing it further, so criticism is just as useful as positive feedback.

listinggenius.co.nz/selling-plan