YIJU New Zealand

Industry Articles

Property · Building · Design

Beware! Developers may use sunset clauses to cancel contracts, sharply increasing risks for home buyers.

Yesterday, YIJU New Zealand’s WeChat article “Can local first-home buyers in New Zealand still get on the property ladder?” (click to read) attracted widespread interest from readers. Achieving the dream of home ownership is far from easy for first-home buyers. So far, more than 4 in ten readers say their wages never rise as quickly as house prices and mortgage rates. How can buying a first home possibly be easy?

The big discussion: can local first-home buyers in New Zealand still get on the property ladder?

To encourage and support first-home buyers entering the market, the New Zealand Government recently proposed a shared-equity home ownership scheme (click to read). Since then, as major banks have raised fixed mortgage rates, BNZ has also introduced a new debt-to-income (DTI) policy to limit applicants’ borrowing. Experts say lower-income first-home buyers may be the group most affected by tighter lending.

The big discussion: With external pressures mounting, will New Zealand house prices really plunge?!

Since New Zealand's renewed outbreak in August, it has felt as though every week brings major news pulling the property market in different directions. One moment, favourable government policies suggest prices will be pushed higher; the next, banks introduce tighter lending rules to cool the market. Leading economists have also stepped forward to warn investors of a house-price crash: ‘For investors who have borrowed heavily or do not understand property risks, there will be a day of reckoning!’

Is now the best time to invest in commercial property? An experienced property adviser offers her analysis

A recent New Zealand Herald article asking ‘Have you considered investing in commercial property?’ has attracted considerable reader interest. It is easy to see why: as New Zealand house prices continue to soar, buying a residential property with a strong return seems increasingly difficult. Perhaps it is time for investors to turn their attention back to commercial property.

Jasmin Hsu: When lives hang in the balance, every second counts

Can I receive an earthquake warning in time, before the earthquake strikes? Can the electronic systems in my home shut down automatically beforehand? Can I quickly find out whether my house may have been damaged? If the answer to all these questions is yes, can I afford it?

The big debate: will the new DTI policy really affect the mortgage on your next home?

Lately, it feels as though banks announce major news every Thursday. In last week’s article, YIJU had only just reported that New Zealand’s major banks had recently raised their fixed mortgage rates when Westpac announced another increase that very evening—its third substantial rate rise in two weeks! Its one-year fixed rate, for example, rose from 2.55% p.a. to 3.34% p.a., an increase of 31%. What a rollercoaster ride! Yet this was not the biggest move a bank made that day.

Market insight: how is the property market responding to a succession of new policies?

The global outbreak of the Delta variant has created downside risks to the rapid recovery of the world economy. Outbreaks in countries occupying key positions in global supply chains have pushed up inflation in many nations. Shortages of raw materials and energy, along with soaring international shipping costs, have also become global challenges.