New Zealand property prices post double digit growth

Average property prices in New Zealand recorded double digit growth in March, although price growth in Auckland slowed.

The latest Quotable Value figures show that property prices increased 12.9 per cent in March from the prior year. The average price of a home in NZ is now NZ$631,432. This is 52.4 per cent higher than the previous market peak of late 2007.

House prices in the Auckland region were up 12.3 per cent in the year to March, but quarterly prices dipped 0.2 percent as loan-to-value limits introduced by the central bank last year curbed investment in the country’s largest city.

It is now capital city Wellington that is seeing the strongest property price growth, with prices growing by more than 21 per cent over the past year.

“The Wellington region continues to see some of the strongest value growth of any area in New Zealand, particularly in more affordable areas outside the central city such as Porirua and the Hutt Valley,” said Andrea Rush, QV National Spokesperson.

With property prices in New Zealand at all-time highs, it is essential that anyone moving to the country starts their new life with the largest amount of NZ Dollars they can.

One simple way you can make a substantial gain is to get the best exchange rate possible when the time comes to change Pounds into NZ Dollars.

Put simply, 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 11th January you would have received NZ$1.727 for every £1 exchanged – making a total of NZ$259,050. However, if you had waited three months to exchange, then yesterday the exchange rate was £1=1.7911. On an exchange of £150,000 this equates to NZ$9,615 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 11th April 2017