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We have an opinion or two about what’s going on in the property market! Here’s where we share the latest.
Skills worth saving: How lockdown taught us how to beat the budget
Did you make a list of pursuits to keep you occupied during lockdown? If you weren’t wrangling under-5s or endeavouring to homeschool while doing the 9-5, perhaps you attempted artisan sourdough using panic bought flour? Maybe you learned to knit while listening to a...
Will having a flatmate help you buy your first home?
First home buyers often wonder aloud about whether or not the bank will include flatmates in their mortgage affordability calculation. Will that ‘income’ let you get a bigger mortgage and a flasher house? Or even just get a house at all? Here’s the rules with the...
When to jump at the best interest rate
About 10 days ago there was a flurry of activity on the interest rate front. ANZ appeared to lead the downward charge and everyone else followed, then ASB went one better, and everyone followed that. It turned out to be three days of mayhem for us where we worked hard...
LVR changes? First home buyers, sorry, they mean diddly squat to you
You’re probably well aware that the RBNZ removed the LVR restrictions on 30th April 2020. What you might not realise is that this was done so that the mortgage relief being granted to people as a result of Covid-19 (mortgage holidays etc), didn’t result in breaches of...
Time to refinance: Should you?
Before I answer that question it’s worth defining what ‘refinance’ actually means because it’s a word people use in different ways. Some people use it to mean ‘change banks’. Usually because they’re annoyed with their current bank or they have this idea that another...
INCOME: Why quality’s (almost) more important than quantity right now
Bigger is better right? The more the merrier too? In a financial context both make a lot of sense. When you think about borrowing money for a mortgage in the Auckland market, the more income you’ve got then the better your chances of getting that mortgage. That’s...
Will the LVR changes let you take the next step?
A journalist’s job is to write a headline that gets you interested enough to click on it and read the story. [See above!] Never forget that clicking means you’ll get to see an advertisement that pays their wages. So, when you see “Reserve bank to remove LVR rules”, I...
First Home Buyers: Your deposit will come back
Unfortunately, community transmission of Covid-19 has been widespread amongst KiwiSaver funds. Balanced and growth funds have taken the biggest beating, but even the really conservative funds have had a few grazes. Unless you’ve been off the grid for all of lockdown,...
Lockdowners: Have you done a budget yet?
We’re now into the fourth week of lockdown and you’ve probably had plenty of time on your hands. Time to watch Netflix. Time to use a small portion of the 20kg bag of flour you panic bought. Time to get seriously anxious about your income situation. Time to bury your...
COVID-19: What’s the short-term outlook for the property market?
Over the last week or so people have asked me what my view is of the property market here in New Zealand with all this Covid-19 business going down. My answers? Well, here’s my outlook short-term. Without wanting to get too scientific about it, Covid-19 has or will...
Download your free mortgage e-book
Got questions about buying your first home? Where to even start?! Our free e-book - The bank said YES! - takes you through the process in a simple (maybe even fun) way. Sign up for your copy, here.