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Govt ‘must avert supply crisis’

Veteran property investor Jonathan Bidmead is predicting a calamitous fall in the number of houses to rent and escalating rents in a crisis unseen since the 1930s

Rentals growth mixed

New rentals are becoming more expensive in South Auckland and North Shore, but cheaper in some eastern and inner suburbs, according to calculations based on recent Government rental data.

Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 has now been passed into law and there are a number of changes pertaining to insurance and some tidy ups consolidating the Healthy Homes standards into the RTA. Some of the changes include:

Mum & dad buyers lead rising investor market

Market share is gradually increasing across all investor purchases with “mum and dad” buyers the biggest group, according to CoreLogic’s latest buyer classification analysis published in July.

News Briefs

Call for clarification of tenant clean-up rules Clearer guidelines are needed on what an end-of-tenancy clean-up requires, according to the Real Estate Institute (REINZ). Its chief executive, Bindy Norwell, says landlords and tenants frequently

Govt’s build-to-rent idea faces hurdles

Talk of the government becoming involved in build-to-rent apartment developments has been shot down by BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.

Insulation pressure on as deadline passes

Reports of widespread shortages of insulation materials and labour are facing landlords who have missed the July 1 deadline to meet government insulation standards, introduced in 2016, requiring all rental properties to have ceiling and underfloor insulation installed wherever reasonably practicable, to meet the required standard.

Other news of interest to landlords includes:

Licensing call: The Property Managers Institute of New Zealand (PROMINZ) is joining tenant advocacy groups in calling for mandatory licensing of landlords. This follows a recent Tenancy Tribunal ruling in which a repeat offender private landlord was found guilty of failing to lodge bonds for 81 tenancies. PROMINZ said a licensing system would ensure only “fit and proper” landlords would be able to operate – including being able to advertise properties for rent.

Government sets out Healthy Homes rules

Landlords with rental homes that aren’t fully insulated are being urged to take action following implementation of the Government’s Healthy Homes standards this month. Insulation will be a legal requirement, along with all new Health Homes standards, from July 1 2019.

Mixed views on OCR cut’s impact

Residential property market watchers are divided on the likely effects of the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to a record low of 1.5%, after it spent the last two years on hold at 1.75%.

Rate drop likely

All eyes will be on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr on May 8, when he’s widely expected to announce a drop in the Official Cash Rate (OCR). Lower rates will favour investors looking to expand their portfolios, with opportunities beckoning in a slow market with prices in most areas off the peaks of recent years.

CGT veto hailed by investors

Months of speculation on the prospect of a capital gains tax on investment property ended with the property investment sector last week hailing the Goverment’s decision to put the idea of a CGT to bed, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowing it would stay off the agenda during her time at the top.