The Property Academy Podcast

In this episode, we discuss Mount Wellington, a suburb in Auckland's property market. Our belief is that Mount Wellington has a very strong property market and makes a good hunting ground for good quality investments. The median house price in Mount Wellington increased at a compounding rate of 8.35% between January 2000 and August 2018. And of the top 20 suburbs that grew the fastest over that period, Mount Wellington is the only suburb where the median house price is below $800K. This indicates that Mount Wellington properties will likely achieve superior capital growth, and yet they are still priced at a relatively affordable entry price point. We also discuss that Maungakiekie-Tamaki, the local board area in which Mount Wellington is located, is both a)  experiencing more rapid population growth than Auckland at large, and b) has the second-highest GDP of any Auckland local board area (2nd only to the Auckland CBD).  

In this episode, we attempt to dispell the myth that property investment is undesirable for New Zealand (or any country). There are several reasons why we believe that property investment is good for the country: 440,000 of New Zealand's 525,000 rental properties are supplied by Mum and Dad investors (the private market). Every additional property that is supplied by private investors is another house that the government doesn't have to provide. This saves the government spending enormous amounts of public money on housing Many residential properties are negatively geared, which means that the investor is putting money into the property each week, and the rent doesn't cover all of the expenses associated with the property. This means the investor is effectively subsidising the tenants to live in the property The reason many Mum's and Dad's become property investors is to sort out their own retirement. By investing in property they are taking responsibility for their own retirement, which places less burden on the state When property investors invest in brand new properties they help more developments get off the ground. If property investors weren't in the market then developers could only sell to owner-occupiers. This would shrink the market for development and would mean that fewer houses would be built, and they may be more costly, both to get off the ground in the first place and because of economies of scale When property investors bring new houses onto the market – whether through building new developments or renovating run-down properties – the supply of housing increases. This decreases the price of houses, relative to what they would otherwise be.

In this episode, we discuss the OneRoof Property Report for the last quarter of 2019. This report sums up how the property market has operated over the last year in New Zealand.  Ed's top takeaway is that although the property market has faced so many changes in the last year: Ring-fencing laws changing, the Healthy Homes Act implementation, a potential capital gains tax being introduced and the government's focus on reducing net migration. And yet, despite all this, the median house price in New Zealand still increased by 8,19%. Despite these changes, the market is still resilient and that's because the fundamentals of the NZ property market are still strong Special guest, Dennis Schipper shares that we're seeing more first home buyers enter the market, which is a great sign that decreased interest rates and the slight relaxation of LVRs (which came out earlier this year) are having an effect. Dennis' top tip is to follow where first home buyers are buying because he sees it as a good sign for future property price growth as families settle into particular areas. As always, if you would like to find out more about property investment in NZ, then check out the Epic Guide to Property Investment in NZ on the Opes Partners website.

In this episode, we discuss 5 reasons why it is a good idea to invest in the main centres when beginning your journey into property investment in NZ. These are: The economy and job market is more diversified in the larger centres The main centres tend to have higher population growth, even as a percentage. This helps to sustain housing demand, which pushes prices up. There is a larger pool of potential tenants, so you're less at risk of vacancy There is more infrastructure being built, which opens up opportunities for capital growth Because of these other reason the major centres tend to be more stable and predictable than the other centres

In this episode, we are joined by Dennis Schipper, a consultant at Opes Partners. Dennis has a lot of experience in property investment nz.  Here, we discuss 6 strategies you can use if you've got a property in mind, but haven't got the ability to get the lending. This include: Get your house revalued (or do minor renovations to your property to increase the value of your owner-occupier home and then get it revalued) Consider a co-ownership – owning half the house with family and/or friends Work with a money coach to decrease your expenses Get a higher paying job/take on a secondary job/or get your partner to get back into the workforce if they haven't been working Don't buy that property, but buy another one. e.g. look at a new property where the deposit requirements are more relaxed e.g. new properties

In this episode, we discuss the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's recent comments on the banks' test servicing rates. As a recap, these test rates, are the interest rate that the bank will use to test whether you can afford a mortgage or not for your investment property (or any other property you are looking to purchase). The RBNZ has said that "we may be at a turning point" in regards to these test rates. If these rates decrease (they're at about 7% at the moment) then borrowers will be able to borrow more, which could add inflationary pressures to the market.  These moves would bring NZ inline with the Australian banks, which have recently decreased their test rates to around 6%. However, it should be noted that the test rates are set by each individual bank, and the central bank does not have control over how the banks set these rates.

In this episode, we are once again joined by Di Foster, property investor and leadership coach. We discuss that women need to up their investment game and invest more in property. According to one study, women retire on 50% less than men and globally have lower financial literacy. These are the sort of stats that made Di want to get stuck into property investment and make a change. 

In this episode, we are once again joined by property investor and leadership coach, Di Foster. Di initially looked at investing in the Uk property market. However, there were several reasons that gave her pause. Here, Di compares the two markets and the yields she was seeing in the UK market, before she eventually decided to invest in NZ.

In this episode, we are once again joined by property investor and leadership coach, Di Foster. Here, Di compares DIY investing (going at it alone) with using an expert property investment coach.  Although Di has quite the personality, she talks about how she and her husband weren't the sorts of people who would go out and buy a house on their own and get it rented. However, Di talks about some of her friends and colleagues who DIY quite happily.

In this episode, we are once again joined by property investor and executive leadership coach, Di Foster. After helping herself and her husband into property investment, Di began wanting to help her father, nieces and nephews all get into the property market. What Di discovered is that each generation needs to get its head around a slightly different concept. For Millenials, it's lifestyle. Millennials need to understand that they don't need to live in their first property. Sometimes it's more appropriate to buy an investment property and get exposure to the property market, rather than buying an owner-occupier home For Gen X'ers it's about cash. Gen X'ers need to be reassured that they aren't going to have to sacrifice their lifestyle and cover all of a second mortgage in order to be able to hold the property  For Boomers it's about debt. So many Boomers work their whole lives to get out of debt, and then they need to get back into debt in order to get ahead. The drivers to get into an investment property are also different. For Millennials it's about getting ahead themselves. Gen X'ers want to sort themselves for retirement and for their children, and Boomers want to maintain their capital position in retirement in order to look after their future generations.