New Zealand’s property market is pinning its hopes on the increased lending limits linked to the first-time buyer loan scheme – the ‘Welcome Home’ loans are slated to increase next month and, coupled with lower interest rates, it could see a surge of new blood rushing into the residential market…
The New Zealand property market is in trouble, with prices sitting at their lowest levels in more than two years.
According to new research from Quotable Value New Zealand, the Government valuation agency, prices are 9.3 per cent lower than they were a year ago.
In the first quarter of this year, prices were down by 0.2 per cent in Auckland, the country’s most populous city.
New Zealand properties are stagnating on the market as vendors refuse to drop prices to the necessary levels in order to shift them and, with lending slow too; the market needs a serious injection of new life to spark a recovery.
That’s where home-hungry first time buyers (FTB’s) come in. Not only are they hoping to take advantage of the bottom end of the market, where prices are lower than they have been in years, but there is also a loan scheme in place to help them further.
FTB’s are a hugely valuable commodity in the recovery of a struggling market and the NZ Government is regarding them as the key to improving sales.
The lending limits on the Welcome Home loans – the loan scheme for FTB’s – are to be increased.
The loans, which are available through Kiwibank and six smaller lenders with a Housing NZ guarantee, currently have a lending limit of £110,000, but that will soon be raised to between £126,700 and £138,500.
Real Estate Institute President Mike Elford said the new limits would be welcomed.
“If you couple that increase with the effect of lower interest rates, it’s a huge step up for people,’” he said.
The loans have provided £285 million to 4,482 low income first home buyers since they were launched in 2003.
For more information on property in New Zealand and the market in general, please visit http://new-zealand.themovechannel.com/
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
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