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Squirrel Blog
Latest
Higher interest rates will slow but not crush NZ economic growth
Two week’s ago expectations for interest rate changes in New Zealand took a leap up in response to the June quarter inflation number coming in 0.5% higher than anticipated. This is a very rare event and the signal it has sent is that the pace of growth in our economy is too strong for the Reserve Bank to be confident of containing inflation below 3%.
Mortgage rates on the rise
The world has been printing money for several years, in anticipation of inflation and interest rates eventually rising. Neither of those happened. But the short-term has changed.
How to save the most money when selling a property
When selling a house one thing for sure is that every seller has one thing in common. They want to get the best price for their property. But what many sellers don’t realise is that it isn’t just the sale price that affects the profit you make on a property.
No large wave of investors selling
Almost three and a half months have now passed since the March 23 announcement of some radical changes in tax rules for investors in residential property. The expectation has been that investors will sell up in disgust, but there's no statistical evidence of a flood of properties hitting the market.
The Mother of all Bubbles
We are so fixated with property that talk of any kind of bubble quickly turns the conversation to housing. I’m going somewhere else. History is a great teacher.
Property Investors are still hanging in there
I continue to hear stories about investors selling off their properties in disgust at the government’s proposed tax changes. But are investors about to bail out of the market?
Investing in Residential Mortgages
At Squirrel, we're known as one of the largest mortgage brokers in New Zealand. But what you might not know is that we are also a lender, which means we can make a portion of those loans available as investments for retail investors. This gives investors better opportunities for their cash funds.
Property spruikers and spin
The cult of personality is alive and well in the New Zealand property market with the next wave of self-styled property gurus. Now they're digital savvy and on social media.
Shock from the housing announcement wearing off
Whenever things like the global pandemic, the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis, or tax policy alterations happen such as those announced on March 23, most of us can take a view on what the likely impact will be. Sometimes these views can be horribly wrong.
ASB backs new builds with lowest floating rate on the market
ASB Bank made a splash recently with the launch of their special mortgage rate for customers that are buying new builds or building their new home or investment property.
Housing market still supported by low interest rates this year
Two weeks ago, I wrote on the theme that young buyers will probably hold back from the residential real estate market until they see older investors returning – then they too will return. Evidence for this has already been shown from my surveys.
Young home buyers are holding off, but why?
There is a Catch-22 situation that first home buyers sometimes find themselves in. They want to buy, but they are nervous, and if they see others stepping back, they do too even though the explicit aim of the government is to give them more space to buy.
