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Rent meters keep ticking during families' fruitless searches
5:00AM Tuesday April 24, 2007
By Anne Gibson
Sales manager Roy Fernandes and his partner cannot find the right house at an affordable price. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Roy Fernandes, an Auckland sales manager, thought he had found paradise when he visited Auckland in 2002.
Five years later, he is stuck in the rent trap, searching for a house to buy but unable to find the bliss he expected when he farewelled London.
"I thought we'd be able to buy here fairly easily," said Mr Fernandes, who has been searching the North Shore for three years. "But it's very frightening. When I first came here in 2002, I could have easily found what we wanted.
"In the last six months, we've probably looked at 180 places."
Mr Fernandes migrated in 2003 and he and his partner are hunting for a three-bedroom house in the Birkenhead area with open-plan kitchen and entertaining areas. They can afford $500,000 to $600,000. They are paying $300 rent a week at Herald Island but are stunned at house prices.
"I have found something I'd like, but it would be about $700,000 - $100,000 over what we want to pay. We don't want to stretch ourselves," he said, adding he moved to New Zealand for a more relaxed lifestyle.
Khushroo Master, another CBD office worker, came from India three years ago and is also trapped renting.
He can afford up to $450,000 for a three-bedroom Pakuranga house.
After many months searching, he is still renting for $350 a week. He is also worried about the rapid rise in prices.
Barfoot & Thompson sales figures released on April 4 showed Auckland's average house price jumped by $60,000 in one month or almost $2000 a day.
Houses sold in March for an average $564,162, up from $504,079 in February and from $475,461 in January.
5:00AM Tuesday April 24, 2007
By Anne Gibson
Sales manager Roy Fernandes and his partner cannot find the right house at an affordable price. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Roy Fernandes, an Auckland sales manager, thought he had found paradise when he visited Auckland in 2002.
Five years later, he is stuck in the rent trap, searching for a house to buy but unable to find the bliss he expected when he farewelled London.
"I thought we'd be able to buy here fairly easily," said Mr Fernandes, who has been searching the North Shore for three years. "But it's very frightening. When I first came here in 2002, I could have easily found what we wanted.
"In the last six months, we've probably looked at 180 places."
Mr Fernandes migrated in 2003 and he and his partner are hunting for a three-bedroom house in the Birkenhead area with open-plan kitchen and entertaining areas. They can afford $500,000 to $600,000. They are paying $300 rent a week at Herald Island but are stunned at house prices.
"I have found something I'd like, but it would be about $700,000 - $100,000 over what we want to pay. We don't want to stretch ourselves," he said, adding he moved to New Zealand for a more relaxed lifestyle.
Khushroo Master, another CBD office worker, came from India three years ago and is also trapped renting.
He can afford up to $450,000 for a three-bedroom Pakuranga house.
After many months searching, he is still renting for $350 a week. He is also worried about the rapid rise in prices.
Barfoot & Thompson sales figures released on April 4 showed Auckland's average house price jumped by $60,000 in one month or almost $2000 a day.
Houses sold in March for an average $564,162, up from $504,079 in February and from $475,461 in January.
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