Buying a house for those moving to New Zealand

What Types of Housing are Available?

When looking to immigrate to New Zealand, many people ask "What sort of Housing is Available?" Just like any other developed country in the world, there is a wide range of housing options. Everything from luxury waterfront apartments in the city through to rural farms in small towns and everything in between.

The average prices vary throughout the country. Here's a current listing of prices. Central Auckland: NZ$ 600 000+, South Auckland: NZ$ 330 000+, Hamilton: NZ$ 335 000+, Wellington: NZ$ 448 000+, Christchurch: NZ$ 323 000+, Bay of Islands: NZ$ 408 000+.

The Time to Buy a Home

You can buy a home anytime you like, you don't even need to have residency AND you can even obtain a mortgage before you are a resident. You can acquire a home loan from a range of different lenders, their rates (both fixed and variable), typically last over a 25-30 year period. The current average interest rate is around 10% and the lenders generally lend up to around 80% of the registered value of the property.

How do I find my dream home?

If you want to find your dream home, try the Weekend or Wednesday edition the major New Zealand newspapers, they will typically have property listings there, or you could also try the Internet or contacting a real estate agent.

Most New Zealand homes are generally built from a various range of materials such as wood, linear board and tilt up concrete. There are also companies who specialize in standard designs you can choose from or customize to some extent. Prices can vary anywhere from around NZ$1,000/m2 (average quality) to NZ$2,000/m2 (higher standards of finish).

Be Aware of the Leaky Roof Syndrome! In 2001 to 2002, there was a housing market boom where consumers demanded cheaper houses resulting in an excess amount of work for both builders and property inspectors alike. In order to fulfill demands, the cheaper homes were produced with poorer quality, creating the "leaky home syndrome".
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