New Zealand real estate prices

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › New Zealand real estate prices

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Smpl Mnmlst
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#3407128 25-Aug-2025 06:55

Tweake:

sorry but the stats say kiwis buy houses to make short term profit.

That’s simply incorrect.

In a previous life I worked in banking and know a bit about residential mortgage lending. Anyone doing what you claim would almost always borrow to do so. The number of borrowers buying to ‘flip’ is minuscule.

Apart from that, in personal experience in ~55 years as an adult, thinking about everyone I’ve known who has bought and sold houses, I’ve never known anyone to do this. People do buy houses to live in them.

There will be a small number of people who want to flip but not the number implied by your generalisation.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

johno1234

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#3407132 25-Aug-2025 07:50

.There are approximately 2 million dwellings in New Zealand and 30,000 sales of non new build dwellings last year so about 1.5% turnover

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
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#3407134 25-Aug-2025 07:56

johno1234:

.There are approximately 2 million dwellings in New Zealand and 30,000 sales of non new build dwellings last year so about 1.5% turnover

So what I'm saying is that a very small number of that 30,000 would be people who want to flip - buy and sell to make a short term gain.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Handle9

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#3407432 26-Aug-2025 00:40

eracode:

Apart from that, in personal experience in ~55 years as an adult, thinking about everyone I’ve known who has bought and sold houses, I’ve never known anyone to do this. People do buy houses to live in them.

Same. I don’t know anyone who has bought a house specifically to flip it. What is very common is trading up when your circumstances change

I’ve owned three houses in New Zealand. The first one was a small, old 3 bed on a tiny site in my mid 20s. No garage, dodgy street but it was ours. We were there for 5 years.

At that point our income was a lot better than after we bought our first house so we bought a house that was on a nicer street, had an internal access garage and a nice garden. We could afford to live there on one income while we had kids. We were there 7 years.

When my wife went back to work we could afford our “forever” house. The house we own now is a relatively modern 4 bed, 2 bathroom on a big site. Ironically it’s the one that became a rental when we moved overseas. We’ve owned it 8 years now.

None of them were bought to make money, they were what we could afford in our circumstances at the time.

mudguard

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#3407438 26-Aug-2025 07:16

Handle9:

None of them were bought to make money, they were what we could afford in our circumstances at the time.

That's a good example. Arguably in that regard a house could almost be seen a little bit like a car, only with much larger sums involved. Should one be expected to keep the same car their entire life?

kingdragonfly

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#3407607 26-Aug-2025 15:17

As house prices drop, will the retirement nest egg still be such a safe bet?: RNZ

Changes to KiwiSaver, global economic uncertainty and predictions house prices could drop by as much as 20 percent by 2030 all mean retirement is looking very different to how it once did.

A retirement strategy based on the equity held in a house is no longer as reliable as it has been in the past. Home ownership in Aotearoa New Zealand fell from 75 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in 2023 and is projected to fall to 48 percent in 2048.

The average age of a first-home buyer has also risen to 36, meaning an increasing number of New Zealanders (13 percent) are paying off their mortgages after they reach retirement age.

The number of retirees renting is also on the rise. By 2048, 40 percent of them will rent, placing pressure on New Zealand's housing stock.
...

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cddt

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#3407627 26-Aug-2025 17:19

Even if my house falls in value by 50% over the next fifty years, I would still rather own it and be living in it than at the mercy of the rental market in my retirement.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

kingdragonfly

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#3407654 26-Aug-2025 19:38

cddt:
Even if my house falls in value by 50% over the next fifty years, I would still rather own it and be living in it than at the mercy of the rental market in my retirement.

I've heard the adage: "you can't eat your house."

Liquidity matters more than ownership, Owning a home is an asset, but if you need cash for food, healthcare, or other essentials, the house itself doesn’t feed you.

A house may be valuable, but it doesn’t pay the bills unless converted into cash.

But never, ever get a reverse mortgage.

Origination fees, closing costs, and ongoing interest compound, will eat away at home equity rapidly. Borrowers must still pay property taxes, insurance, and maintain the home. Failure to do so can trigger foreclosure.

A reverse mortgage are expensive, complicated, and reduce financial flexibility, making them a bad idea for many retirees.

It also screws your survivors, children.

cddt

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#3407755 27-Aug-2025 07:49

kingdragonfly: I've heard the adage: "you can't eat your house."

Liquidity matters more than ownership, Owning a home is an asset, but if you need cash for food, healthcare, or other essentials, the house itself doesn’t feed you.

A house may be valuable, but it doesn’t pay the bills unless converted into cash.

The biggest predictor of poverty in the elderly is whether or not they own their own home. If you want a financially secure retirement, the most important thing you can do is to own your house and be free of debt. The cost of food is insignificant when compared with the cost of rent.

kingdragonfly: It also screws your survivors, children.

My parents have made it clear I should expect nothing when they die, I do not expect anything, and will not raise my children to expect anything either.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

kingdragonfly

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#3407764 27-Aug-2025 08:59

cddt: The biggest predictor of poverty in the elderly is whether or not they own their own home. If you want a financially secure retirement, the most important thing you can do is to own your house and be free of debt. The cost of food is insignificant when compared with the cost of rent.

I agree in New Zealand, homeownership is a strong predictor of lower poverty risk among older people, but it's not the only one. There's income generated from accumulated assets while retired.

In the US, homeownership as a predictor of risk goes from "strong" to "crucial", even more reflective than income alone.

59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

In New Zealand, it's hard to come up with a number, however 49% of low-income Kiwis spend >30% of income on housing. Not good, but not as brutal as the US.

Kia kaha, New Zealand. Long live New Zealand.

Senecio

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#3407774 27-Aug-2025 09:49

cddt:

My parents have made it clear I should expect nothing when they die, I do not expect anything, and will not raise my children to expect anything either.

I will be very dissapointed if my parents leave me anything. Sounds like they are listening as they are off on another cruise next week. I only ask that they don't leave me any bills!

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sir1963

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#3407775 27-Aug-2025 09:50

cddt:

My parents have made it clear I should expect nothing when they die, I do not expect anything, and will not raise my children to expect anything either.

I cut a cartoon out for my Mum and gave it to her.

There is a group of people around a lawyers desk, looking at the lawyer with expectation.

The lawyer says "The will is very brief , Being of sound mind I have spent the lot"

johno1234

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#3407776 27-Aug-2025 09:52

My aim is to have the kids expect little or nothing but then be surprised to get something.

sir1963

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#3407778 27-Aug-2025 09:56

Senecio:

cddt:

My parents have made it clear I should expect nothing when they die, I do not expect anything, and will not raise my children to expect anything either.

I will be very dissapointed if my parents leave me anything. Sounds like they are listening as they are off on another cruise next week. I only ask that they don't leave me any bills!

My situation is different.

I have 2 children, my wife has 2 children (we are a blended family)

ALL the kids get treated the same by us.

HOWEVER, my eldest is intellectually handicapped, so I am supplying him a "forever home" , which in turn means supplying the others a home as well.
We are well insured life wise, so there will be money for this.

My biggest fear is once I fall off my perch my son could easily be homeless, so for 20+ years I have been putting in safety rails for him.

tweake

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#3408756 30-Aug-2025 14:12

cddt:

My parents have made it clear I should expect nothing when they die, I do not expect anything, and will not raise my children to expect anything either.

thats a major problem with nz, and it shows the attitude.

the big difference between the haves and have nots is generational wealth. using the wealth of the last generation to build your own and in turn pass that on so its built on. money makes money.

to many kiwis simply take from the next generation to fund their own lifestyle leaving nothing behind.

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