Property prices in New Zealand are continuing to rise, although the pace of the growth has slowed slightly, new figures show.
According to the latest Quotable Value national house price index, property prices in New Zealand rose by 13.5 Per cent in the year to the end of February 2017. However, the pace of growth had slowed to just 1.1 per cent over the last three months.
The national average value of a how house in New Zealand is currently NZ$631,349.
The slowdown has even been seen in Auckland. Although property prices in New Zealand’s largest city increased by 12.8 percent year-on-year, they fell 0.7 per cent over the past three months. The average price of a house in Auckland is currently NZ$1,043,680.
QV national spokesperson Andrea Rush said the latest figures showed values also dropped in Hamilton and Christchurch over the past quarter, while the rate of growth slowed in Tauranga.
However, in capital city Wellington values accelerated by more than 21.5 per cent over the past year and 4.3 per cent over the past three months.
With property prices in New Zealand still high, 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 12th December you would have received NZ$1.789 for every £1 exchanged – making a total of NZ$268,350. However, if you had waited until early in the new year to see if the rate would rise, then you will have been disappointed. By 18th January, the rate had slipped to £1=NZ$1.691 – or just NZ$253,650; a drop of almost NZ$15,000.
As of last yesterday, the rate had climbed slightly against the January low, but was still far lower than it had been in December: £1=NZ$1.726.
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 7th March 2017