Investment Property New Zealand

Investment property continues to be the favourite investment type for New Zealanders; the majority of those surveyed recently by ASB Investments for their Quarterly Investor Confidence Report stated that domestic residential property is their preferred real estate asset type.

Investment property New Zealand style appeals not only to the domestic audience however, the popularity of the country from both a tourism and economic point of view means that international residential and commercial real estate investment interest in New Zealand is also intense and the gains that have been achieved in recent years have been impressive.

When the property market began to slow down towards the tail end of 2005 many predicted that the housing cycle was about to enter a period of depression.  The New Zealand property market received intense observation as a result as everyone waited to see whether the bottom would fall out of the market and it would come crashing down…but employment levels in New Zealand remained high, the economy remained strong and slowly but surely people have begun to accept that the big crash everyone predicted has not materialised.

This change in perception has resulted in a change in fortunes for investment property in New Zealand.  Many sellers refused to put their properties on the market while everyone waited to see whether the market would crash – and now that it hasn’t there has been a surge of properties being advertised for sale which has created a short term buyer’s market in New Zealand. 

A buyer’s market is fantastic news for property investors who thought they’d missed the boat; while there remains a surfeit of property for sale investors can shop around for investment real estate, be fussy about what they select and they can also negotiate far harder with vendors who are fed up of waiting for a sale and who will accept offers on their property.

Carefully selected New Zealand investment property can continue to represent a solid investment asset for the long term because the demand for residential, tourism and commercial space in New Zealand remains consistent. 

According to the very latest data from Statistics New Zealand the country gained 1,830 skilled migrants in March 2006 and generally the migration trend in New Zealand is up.  This trend helps fuel demand for residential real estate and has a positive knock on effect for the general economy and the property based economy in New Zealand.  The country is also retaining more skilled citizens which also keeps demand for property high. 

In terms of tourism in New Zealand, demand for property to rent out and hotels and guest houses to stay in is increasing annually which offers those seeking buy to let or tourism related commercial property investments a growing audience to target for proft.

One final factor that will contribute to the long term profitability potential of investment property New Zealand is that business confidence is at a seven month high and that sales and export volumes are expected to increase sharply fuelling business and the economy, pushing up demand for increased commercial space and increasing employment options for local New Zealanders.  This increase in confidence should avert any form of recession according to the Chief Economist of National Bank Cameron Bagrie and help stabilise the long term potential of investment property in New Zealand.