New Zealand Property
Don’t rush into buying a New Zealand property until you have had time to settle in to New Zealand and you know the area, have done your homework and are sure that you have found the right place to buy a property.
If you need a mortgage, New Zealand banks can arrange home loans very quickly.
Steps involved in buying a house in New Zealand
Understanding the property market
- First - get a feel for the property market. “Open homes” are popular in New Zealand. “Open house” means that the house owners who are selling their house allow potential buyers to view their home at a particular time on specific days.
- No appointment is necessary.
- Careful planning will mean that you can see a number of houses quickly.
- Estate agents are normally happy to show recent migrants around (the estate agents do earn commission after all!)
- To learn even more about any house that interests you or the suburb you like, you can pay a fee to the government’s Quotable Value. For $5, a QV will tell you how much other properties in the neighbourhood are selling for, For $4 they will report on how much a house sold for previously. $50 buys a hazard report, etc.
New Zealand mortgages - how much can I borrow
Making an offer on a house
- Once you have found the house you want, you need to make the current owners an offer.
- Most New Zealand property is sold for a fixed price. During this negotiation the seller may agree to remedy any faults your building inspection has uncovered.
- Unless its boom time when houses are more likely to be sold by auction. If you plan to buy a house at an auction, you need to ensure that everything is organised before the day of the auction. The property title will need to checked by a solicitor, you’ll need a building inspection carried out.
- At a house auction you might end up bidding against other potential buyers, make sure that you have set yourself a budget and stick to it, in the heat of the auction, it is easy to wrapped up in the excitement and to pay more for a house than you can afford
- A document you definitely need to see before you complete your purchase is a Land Information Memorandum (LIM). The LIM contains information from the local council about a property’s zoning, boundaries, building consents, etc. For a copy of a LIM, the local councils can charge anywhere between $100 to $400. This is expensive, particularly if you do not then go on to buy the property - but think of the cost if you buy a house without one and then find out there is a problem.
- Finally, when you have an offer that is accepted, you are then expected to pay a ten percent deposit on the agreed purchase price. You also agree on the settlement terms of when the contracts will be exchanged and when the balance of the money needs to be paid.
Different Types of New Zealand Houses
- Inner City Apartments - are the choice of professional people who want to live close to work and the pubs and restaurants. These apartments are normally one or two bedrooms. The average price is around NZ$350,000.
- Inner City Town Houses - just outside of the city centre in the older surrounding suburbs are teh one story houses or cottages. These areas are the realm of the young couples of young families who choose to live close to the city for work. These houses are not cheap and average around NZ$550,000.
- Blue Ribbon Sea Views - these combined the close proximity to all that the city has to offer with the benefits of have the sea on their doorstep. The houses are a combination of new or refurbished townhouses with two or more bedrooms, open plan living indoor and out. The average price for a house will be NZ$800,000.
- Small holdings - these have up to two acres of land and are only half an hour from a major city or major town. These larger plots come with tennis courts and/or swimming pools. The price will be around NZ$600,000.
- Family homes - consist of larger houses with larger three to five bedrooms on reasonably sized plots in the outer city suburbs. These houses are a significant proportion of all New Zealand housing. The properties will be around NZ$400,000 depending on the suburb.
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