Originally posted by Hendrix
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I don't know about Tauranga but it could be ok. I'm not a property investor - just know about places I have lived in and considered / looked at for my own use.
The places I suggest care with are the the ones that have a reputation in the media for 'affordable property'. Many of these are being over hyped right now and you can get your fingers burned and well and truly BS'd by RE agents.
I live in one of these places. There's tons of empty commercial lease space here, it's way overpriced and staying unoccupied - I would think because of a conflict of interest between selling and renting property. The PM's (This is especially true for commercial) have BS'd the buyers and need to uphold the charade. Anyone, who like myself is happy to walk down main street and knock on doors, knows better.
This place has widespread UFB (A plus) but next to no IT industry (My profession). Outside of a small handful of medium sized manufacturing companies (also over hyped in the media) and retail there is f*all jobs. The local chamber of commerce here is useless. They couldn't be bothered answering the phone or responding to emails and are just plain lazy. Prospective business immigrants (from larger cities) will find the equivalent in Nelson or Invercargill a lot more on the ball.
Don't expect any practicing RE agent here to tell you about the areas with geo-technical issues. You'll find this out in winter when the ground gets soaked and no amount of wasted power can warm and dry a house.
To be fair, it's not all bad. Outside of the (well known reputation) for a rough segment, most people are friendly. Prices for staples like food and petrol are on a par with major cities (and for some reason petrol is a lot cheaper than neighboring towns here). There is no traffic jams and everything is in walking distance or a short drive.
It suits some people for sure. But the economy is best described as 'shallow', 'backwards' and not going anywhere fast.
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