![]()
New Zealand is one of the best places on Earth to buy a house. The choices are plentiful, the paperwork is easy and the investment potential is strong. Whatever part of the country you choose, our houses reflect our lifestyle: easy, open, and relaxed.
New Zealand is one of the best places on Earth to buy a house. The choices are plentiful, the paperwork is easy and the investment potential is strong. Whatever part of the country you choose, our houses reflect our lifestyle: easy, open, and relaxed.
Here are some tips on finding yourself the best place to live in New Zealand.
Where to Live?
If you’ve got options about where to live in New Zealand, take a look at our breakdown of New Zealand’s various districts.
If you know which part of the country you’re heading to, then let the house hunting begin! The first place many kiwis turn to when they’re looking to buy a house (or anything else, for that matter) is TradeMe, our homegrown online auction site. All the real estate agencies use it to advertise properties for sale (and for rent), as do the few private vendors.
The other place to go is Realestate.co.nz. Pooling listings from the extensive agencies in NZ, it represents over 95% of that market. You’ll get plenty of options and market insight there.
Lastly, check out the resources over at Quotable Value. This site can provide lots of background data on specific properties, like council valuations, improvements, and risk hazards. It also has a range of articles discussing market trends and strategies. Some of it’s paid, lots of it’s free.
How much?
As of October, 2015, the median house price in New Zealand is about $390k. That’s a fraction of the UK median, which is $600k in New Zealand dollars (£262k). Plus, nearly all houses in New Zealand are freehold.
Dollar for dollar, the options here are terrific, compared to other countries. There simply aren’t that many places where you can go skiing one day and sailing the next, with a great restaurant or show in between.
Here’s a list of median property prices across New Zealand, in October 2015.
Region | Median |
Auckland Metro | $765,000 |
Auckalnd Region | $740,000 |
Northland | $323,000 |
Waikato BOP | $353,000 |
Hawke’s Bay | $285,000 |
Manawatu/Whanganui | $215,000 |
Taranaki | $285,000 |
Wellington | $402,000 |
Nelson/Marlborough | $385,000 |
Christchurch | $474,000 |
Canterbury/ Westland | $412,000 |
Otago Lakes | $462,000 |
Otago Region | $272,000 |
Southland | $187,000 |
Average | $397,143 |
Property is an investment
Most Kiwis’ home is also their biggest investment. There is no capital gains tax in New Zealand, either on the home you live in, or on investment properties, provided you own the home for 2 years or more. Further, anyone can own a home here, regardless of their country of residence. So a house is not just a place to live; it’s an investment in the future.
What can I expect to find?
There are a few things to consider before buying or renting a house in New Zealand.
- Most of the houses are made of timber. Brick is sometimes used as cladding over a timber frame.
- Central heating is rare, although far more likely in houses built since about 2010.
- Double glazing is also rare. Again, it’s more frequent in new houses, but if you hold out for it, you’ll be searching long and hard.
- There is big investment in public transport in Auckland and Wellington, but mostly, it still has a long way to go. Expect to use a car.
- Some houses built between the 1980s and 2005 had problems with water penetration. Watch out for “monolithic cladding” from this period.
- Some areas are on gas, but quite a few aren’t. In a lot of houses electricity is the sole source of energy. Some people cook on bottle gas.
Step by step guide to buying property in New Zealand
Here’s the step by step guide to buying property in New Zealand. Most of these things can be done either in person on site, or remotely over the internet.
- Money. Talk to your bank and sort out your budget. A lot of houses sell at auction, and you can’t bid if you’re not ready to buy. For most people, that means having a mortgage lined up and ready to go.
- Search. Start looking. You probably have some idea of the type of home you want, but looking at places (either on site or online) will also help refine your requirements. Go to auctions to get a feel for prices and values. See here for a rolling summary of house prices by region. Try not to fall in love too easily.
- Research. You can’t know too much. If you like a place enough to buy it, hire a registered builder to examine it and supply a formal report, detailing the long term maintenance outlook. If possible, accompany your builder to the site as an extra pair of eyes.
- Research more. Explore the local stuff like parks, schools, transport links, etc. Talk to people who know the area, like neighbours or local shop keepers. Remember, you might end up living amongst these folks, so let your curiosity be guided by your courtesy!
- Legal. You’ll need a solicitor. Here’s a list of all the lawyers registered with the New Zealand Law Society. Fees vary depending on the lawyer and the complexity of the deal, but you might expect legal costs to be somewhere between one and five thousand dollars.
- Get hold of the Council file on the property, which is known as a LIM report (for Land Information Memorandum ]. Read it closely, and then have your lawyer read it. Check that the property reflects the report, and that there are no un-documented alterations to the property. Check for any unusual historical events, like flooding (or flood mitigation), earth moving, and so on.
- Buy at auction. Auctions are swift and simple: everyone turns up and bids. If the reserve is met, the highest bidder is obliged to purchase unconditionally, so you need to complete all your research before the auction. Sometimes vendors will negotiate conditions such as the settlement period with the winning bidder, but don’t presume that: ask before the auction starts.
- Buy through negotiation. If you like a place, you can make an offer. In addition to price, this could also include conditions such as the settlement date, a satisfactory builder’s & LIM report, approval of finance, and so on. Vendors will usually come back with a counter offer on either the price or the conditions or both.
- Paperwork. One of the benefits of purchasing in New Zealand property is that practically all the agents use the same contract templates, which reduces the time your lawyer spends (and charges) on the deal.
- Acceptance. Most vendors require a deposit (normally 10%) which is payable as soon as the offer is accepted. The next step is for both parties to meet all the specified conditions. Then – on an agreed date – the offer becomes unconditional. That means both parties are now fully committed to the sale going ahead.
- Settlement. On an agreed date, the purchaser (or their lawyer) makes the full and final payment for the property, picks up the key, and moves in!
