Can you afford a home in NZ?

[Bling]

Pretty sure solitaire is a professional gamer

BZG Wagon you must be on the BIG bucks to want to work that many hours

[GTsedan]

Bit of info out there for those in Auckland still looking (best of luck)

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/new-auckland-property-values-show-mixed-bag-4432491

[mjrstar]

I remember this thread... interesting stuff...

My situation has changed a bit too, I had 3 properties and a bit over a million in mortgages, sold 2 off and now have a reasonably nice freehold lifestyle block, 7 car garaging, 5 bedrooms etc.. and some cash in the bank..
And yes I had to sell my Auckland place for a loss, but did pretty well on the apartment we had.

Didn't manage to buy many trees yet though..

[mr_monkey]

i just bought a home with my gf. in hamilton. We prove that its totally achievable to scratch money up from nowhere (for the deposit, kiwisaver provided it) and buy a low deposit home loan on shitty wages.

highly recommend PSIS for all first home buyers.

Kiwisaver is great, paid out over 17k towards our deposit.

No deposit home loans are not bad. we were given one loan for the house and one loan for the deposit portion (so we borrowed part of the deposit). Deposit loan is over 15 years and was required to supply the 20% "deposit"

Repayments are pretty much what we were paying in rent before but everything else (insurances etc) make it a bit more.

I say TRY GET A MORTGAGE before deciding you cant afford it. the bank wont let you get into anything you cant afford.

[solitaire]

Sounds like you’ve set yourself up pretty well. Do you work from home mostly or just different hours?

I work as a Service Manager for an American telco, looking after the international services of customers HQ'd in new zealand.

I work from home 2 days a week and pretty varied hours, its not terribly unusual for me to be dealing with issues at 3am on a sunday morning so I get a lot of freedom (i'm the 3rd service manager in as many years, we tend to burn out pretty fast )

[solitaire]

Pretty sure solitaire is a professional gamer

if only - barely get any time nowadays - have not fired up bc2 for aaagessss

[sergei]

I almost doubled my pay in last few month (I am in 10th decile of NZ income distribution, according to this: http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2010/02 ... on-in.html), still can't afford to buy in Auckland.

The choice at this stage is like this:

* Buy in Auckland a leaky, rotten old piece of shit that needs perpetual renovations
* Buy in Auckland something decent, with 40+ min commute time, in a shady neighbourhood, and live rest of 25+ years on noodles.
* Buy in remote place for relatively cheap, and live rest of life on noodles because of no decent job.
* Wait for market crash while saving and investing (some) money.

[BZG Wagon]

Now my GF & I are back from the states we're starting to looking again.

There seem to be a few more 'decent' listings listings creeping into the real estate pages but overall there still isn't a lot of choice out there.

$450k - $520k is our budget for Te Atatu Pen or West Harbour (can't afford anything closer to town).

Also starting to look at units or townhouses in the area (for $420k - $480k) just due to a lack of options. At least it could offset some of the tax I'm paying.

Went to an auction for a terrible condition 1950's house in a below average street on the Peninsula last Saturday. 800sq section, needed extensive rennovations and had some fairly average quality work done to it to look presentable.
No mention of the house on the LIM & the garage was falling to pieces.
It sold for $440k after extensive negotiations between the buyer & seller (inital reserve was $450k).

I think Sergei hit the nail on the head though.

[Bling]

I almost doubled my pay in last few month (I am in 10th decile of NZ income distribution, according to this: http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2010/02 ... on-in.html), still can't afford to buy in Auckland.

Why am I not surprised at that reply... I've probably paid 5% of my mortgage off since this thread started. Goal is another 10% in the next 12 months.

Does your wife not have a job?

Yep I live in CHCH and probably get paid less than if I worked in Auckland doing the same job. But I know which place i'm better off in. I'd be on the border of 8/9 in that table.

[Al]

I almost doubled my pay in last few month (I am in 10th decile of NZ income distribution, according to this: http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2010/02 ... on-in.html), still can't afford to buy in Auckland.

The choice at this stage is like this:

* Buy in Auckland a leaky, rotten old piece of shit that needs perpetual renovations
* Buy in Auckland something decent, with 40+ min commute time, in a shady neighbourhood, and live rest of 25+ years on noodles.
* Buy in remote place for relatively cheap, and live rest of life on noodles because of no decent job.
* Wait for market crash while saving and investing (some) money.

I think you just don't want to own a home. You obviously clear $1k+/week now going by your given figures. Does your wife work as well? Does she earn a reasonable sum as well? I had a quick look on Trade Me for properties, you can pick up a reasonably nice three bedroom first home on the Shore for $350k - $400k.

The Welcome Home Loan scheme will let you borrow up to $350k, but you can't earn any more than $85k with one or two people borrowing. Then you only need 15% deposit of the amount above $200k, not the whole amount, which would be $22,500. If you can't save that, you don't want to own a home.

[Bling]

I think you just don't want to own a home.

I'm think this is the case too.

[solitaire]

yeah, its all about sacrifices unfortunately, if you want the conveniance of living in a nice house in a nice area and having a short commute you are going to have to be prepared to pay more for it than the next guy, its just supply and demand.

[sergei]

I think you just don't want to own a home.

I'm think this is the case too.

I want to own a house, but I don't want to take the income buffer away.
House is not like a car loan and all of the 3 years commitment. It is 20+ years of committing most of your income.

I am not including my wife's income (she gets about 60% of what I do), because there will not be any of it, if we have a kid.

The choice now is either kid or a house, not both, otherwise it will be too irresponsible.

I am budgeting well ahead, and I know how expensive kids are if they are to be looked after properly and not deprived from education point of view.

If I buy a house I will be looking not far from where the jobs are, additionally not far from school and shopping which means an entry home is about 380,000 that is allowing some room for a kid.

Otherwise if I have no decent job, I don't need the house.

I forgot to put another option:

Move out to Australia, earn 30% more and pay 30% less for property. Which I am considering as serious option.

[solitaire]

Move out to Australia, earn 30% more and pay 30% less for property. Which I am considering as serious option.

Where?

[Bling]

I want to own a house, but I don't want to take the income buffer away.
House is not like a car loan and all of the 3 years commitment. It is 20+ years of committing most of your income.

Will you have the same job for the next 20 years or do you think realistically you may decide to change jobs?

I know for a fact I won't live here in 30 years which is the term at which my fixed weekly payments are based on. So I get lower fixed weekly repayments and put whatever else I wish on the principle each week.

Yep it's a commitment, no doubt about that. But you're looking at it from the wrong angle. Well my angle certainly looks a lot different to yours in any case.

[sergei]

Move out to Australia, earn 30% more and pay 30% less for property. Which I am considering as serious option.

Where?

I am going to get flamed for this...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/melbou ... 6039937945
http://www.watoday.com.au/business/prop ... 1kd5n.html

vs this:

http://www.qv.co.nz/onlinereports/propertyvaluemap.htm

Although I am expecting the Auckland priced to take similar plunge, after rugbytitus wears off, and reality kicks in.

[sergei]

I want to own a house, but I don't want to take the income buffer away.
House is not like a car loan and all of the 3 years commitment. It is 20+ years of committing most of your income.

Will you have the same job for the next 20 years or do you think realistically you may decide to change jobs?

I know for a fact I won't live here in 30 years which is the term at which my fixed weekly payments are based on. So I get lower fixed weekly repayments and put whatever else I wish on the principle each week.

Yep it's a commitment, no doubt about that. But you're looking at it from the wrong angle. Well my angle certainly looks a lot different to yours in any case.

Yes, you bought it to sell it.

I am looking to settle in. that is where the "Family" comes from in "Family home". I am not getting any younger...

Of course the job will be different, but most likely will be in same area.


Doesn't it bother you that "investing" in property actually harms economy very badly? All these people who dump their money into property market are actually causing recession. I believe profiteering from housing market should be heavily (extra) taxed. Houses don't make anything by sitting there. All they do is devalue currency and create unemployment.
Can you imagine what economic boost it would have been, if everyone who who invested into property, instead invested into companies, which create jobs, and drive economy?

[wde_bdy]

I almost doubled my pay in last few month (I am in 10th decile of NZ income distribution, according to this: http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2010/02 ... on-in.html), still can't afford to buy in Auckland.

That table is the biggest load of shit out, to make any sense it should at least be based on over 18 wage earners or those available for employment. Plenty of school students who would be decile two with after school and holiday jobs.

Callum

[solitaire]

Move out to Australia, earn 30% more and pay 30% less for property. Which I am considering as serious option.

Where?

I am going to get flamed for this...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/melbou ... 6039937945
http://www.watoday.com.au/business/prop ... 1kd5n.html

vs this:

http://www.qv.co.nz/onlinereports/propertyvaluemap.htm

Although I am expecting the Auckland priced to take similar plunge, after rugbytitus wears off, and reality kicks in.

Ah, thought you were thinking sydney...

Those docs look the same as the articles that our resident left wing newspaper published. The article is based and the price of houses selling, so the median is always going to drop in this financial environment - it doesn't mean the actual value of houses are dropping, only that cheaper houses are selling. People who don't need to sell (high value property's - over 700k) are pulling them off the market or sitting on them, whereas the cheaper entry level propertys are turning over just as quick, dragging the median down.

I can't see the auckland housing market drop, no-ones going to sell a house when the value drops, they will just sit on it and wait, its supply and demand, as long as demand outstrips supply the value will hold (which is exactly why the 700k+ houses are either not selling or going for a bargain, not enough demand at that end of the market)

[solitaire]

That table is the biggest load of shit out,

Of course it is, its from a left wing blogger,