Real estate agents brace for tax shake-up
?It?s the ?I don?t knows? at the moment, we have to see if the taxes will have much impact on residential investments, but we are a little in the dark ? we have seen some content, but not all of it yet,? says Harcourts Johnsonville and Churton Park manager Paul Ellis. Mr Ellis says they have been ?a whole lot busier? at the start of 2010, with more houses coming on the market in North Wellington. He says the lack of stock is being addressed by housing developments coming to fruition. ?It seems more houses are out now, stocks are up dramatically in our area. ?Some home developers stuck it out and kept building, the smarter ones kept building,? he says. As far as investment property goes, he says the outlook is fairly unpredictable at present. Tommys Real Estate Lower Hutt director Mark Coffey says the house price-rise will not continue and should level off over the next two years. ?The price has run up to the same level as 2007, but there is a much lower volume of people selling houses than in 2007 ? around one third,? says Mr Coffey. Supply and demand has pushed house prices up with a shortage of stock due to the market holding back on new lending and building during the recession. ?No one was building new homes for some time, when the market nose-dived we also had an influx of immigration and ex-pats retuning home. ?This means more people looking for fewer houses,? he says. Sellers are in a much stronger position, but Mr Coffey says prices won?t bubble like they did in 2007. A recent increase in consents being issued for new building projects and a willingness from banks to lend money will see more houses come on to the market and prices even out. ?If people are buying for themselves it?s a good time, because a lack of houses for sale has pushed up rent. ?Rent has gone right up in the past 24 months, so if you are looking to buy a home now is a good time,? says Mr Coffey.
