New Zealand house prices grew at their smallest level for nearly two year in April, new figures show.
The latest Quotable Value data reveals that the nationwide average property value was NZ$631,147 in April, up 11 per cent from a year earlier – the smallest annual gain since July 2015.
Over the three months to the end of April, national house values were unchanged due in large part to a 0.4 per cent decline in Auckland property values, which had been the lynchpin for the country’s overheated housing market in recent years.
However, property prices in the nation’s capital, Wellington, are soaring after a protracted lull. House prices in the capital grew 3.4 per cent to NZ$602,230 in the three months to the end of April. They have increased by 21 per cent in the last year. The city is currently experiencing a lot of first home buyers turning to satellite centres in the Hutt Valley and Porirua with a higher number of listings.
“Nationwide quarterly value growth has plateaued over the past three months as the housing market continues to be constrained by the latest round of LVR (loan-to-value ratio) restrictions,” QV spokeswoman Andrea Rush said. “Nationwide sales volumes have continued to be relatively weak and despite sales picking up in March as compared to February, they were at the lowest level for March since 2014.”
Of course, slowing house prices are good news for those of you hoping to move to NZ, and buy a home, in the near future. One way you can take even more advantage of the country’s cooling property market, is to make sure you get the best possible deal on your currency exchange.
When exchanging large lump sums, only small fluctuations in exchange rates can have a huge impact on how much money you’ll end up with.
For example, imagine you managed to sell your property in the UK three months ago, and had £150,000 to spend. If you had exchanged immediately, then on 7th February you would have received NZ$1.705 for every £1 exchanged – making a total of NZ$255,750. However, since then, the rate has been climbing consistently. If you had waited three months to exchange your money, then by 5th May the exchange rate was £1=1.875. On an exchange of £150,000 this equates to NZ$25,500 more in your pocket.
Of course, there is no guarantee of choosing the absolute best time to exchange. But taking expert advice from a specialist currency exchange firm like Halo Financial can certainly help.
Foreign exchange companies understand why the exchange rates are moving and just what impact this has on your currency transaction so can give you at least some indication of when the market could move favourably. What’s more, they can also provide you with a range of options on when you should consider exchanging, and how much you should exchange at a time.
To find out how you can make sure you can take advantage of positive fluctuations in the market and exchange your currency at the right time to get the best possible, visit www.halofinancial.com
Article published 8th May 2017