Our first meeting of the year is being held at the Ocean Lodge Muritai St WEDNESDAY 21st February. Robyn Grinter from NZGems is coming to inspire us. Robyn as an investor has bought over 230 properties some of which she has on sold. She runs a property sourcing business, which you can view at www.nzgems.com. Robyn has been to many specialist PI courses such as Dolf DeRoos and John Burley boot camps. She is a regular contributor to Property Talk forum. I met her for the first time at the NZPIF conference and my first impressions was she has figured out how to be a hugely successful investor and motivator without becoming a slick sales chick. In other words she still retains that common touch that will appeal to most people. I think that she will be a fun person to listen to and regardless of how we do our investing we will learn something from her. The meeting proper commences at 7.30 pm with the ever popular meal at 6pm when you will have the opportunity to chat to other investors. RSVP to Glenn for the meal please (Ph 03 547771
THE MARKET
Some of you may recall I mentioned in the last newsletter about the lack of properties to let. This trend has continues and it appears most other property managers in Nelson are finding the same. The feel of the market is just like back in 2001 when the supply was not increasing but the demand was. Rents are breaking through some of the traditional glass ceilings with the $400 barrier being shattered for the top range properties. Down in North Road and Murphy Street that the writer visits on a regular basis it is now possible to have a bit more choice of tenants than was possible 12 months ago. Despite what some analysts might be claiming it appears that rents are moving up something like 5 to 10%. The better properties are doing best out of the movement due to that glass-ceiling thing mentioned above.
DESTINATION NELSON
The world is beating a path to Nelson and Tasman and most of us are still wondering what is going on. This is a major factor in real estate sales and is impacting on the rental market also. Clearly the upper end is dominated by the UK arrivals but other nationalities are in on the act also. I have had tenants from Indonesia, Samoa, Vietnam South and North, Korea, Canada, Switzerland, France, USA, Tonga, Cook Islands, Burma (Myanmar), Ireland, Germany, Thailand, India, Parkistan, China, Australia, and North Africa, and Spain.
Here is what others from out of Nelson are saying about the phenominum.
A forum contributer.
I think Nelson house price growth is immigration based. Immigration sunk and so did Nelson. Immigration is up again now and Nelson has benefited. The amount of times I've heard Nelson mentioned on foreign forums as some sort of Shangri-La to escape to is astounding. So to test my theory I went to Google to see where the noise was. My
search results were as follows:
Immigrate Nelson NZ - 779,000 hits
Immigrate Wellington NZ - 604,000 hits
Immigrate Auckland NZ - 818,000 hits
Immigrate Queenstown NZ - 139,000 hits
Immigrate Christchurch NZ - 332,000 hits.
So it seems Nelson is very popular, second only to Auckland. Considering it's size, this is quite remarkable.
A new arrival blogger
About a month later, we got on a plane and spent a week in Nelson. We looked at the house we originally found online, as well as some others. We also did some driving, visiting Picton and Abel Tasman National Park. We were absolutely amazed at what we were seeing: no billboards on two-lane highways that run through incredible landscapes; the bright sunshine and quality of light; walking on the beautiful beaches, which are so accessible; art galleries and organic cafes even in the middle of nowhere; the friendly, happy, laid-back people In fact, I had started noticing the difference as soon as we arrived in the
Country. While awaiting our flight to Nelson in the
This newsletter has been sponsored by SBS. Proud to be a Building Society not a Registered Bank.
Wellington airport, I was amazed at how genuinely happy everyone around us seemed.
As an American, I am used to grumpy faces on both the travellers and employees at airports, so I was a little bit amazed - was everyone on vacation or something? But the more people we talked to, the more I realized that this is just how New Zealanders are.
A week is not nearly enough time to experience New Zealand if you’re just going for a visit, but it was enough for us to know that we wanted to go back - to stay.
A lawyer specialising in immigration
Compared with what you probably paid for your current home, you’ll find your currency converted to New Zealand dollars will go a very long way in our real estate market. Owning our own home is something that two-thirds of us have chosen to do and is still affordable for most. While suburban houses still account for 85 percent of house sales, inner-city and semi-rural living are becoming increasingly popular options.
The following is a look at some of our more common housing styles and the price range they generally fall into. The prices mentioned are indicative and vary by region.
Suburban family home
Featuring anywhere between three and five bedrooms, these large family homes built on reasonably sized, established sections make up a significant proportion of New Zealand housing.
They normally have fenced front and back yards so the kids and pets have plenty of space to play safely. Drive-on access and a one car garage complete the home. These properties would have an average price of around NZ$400,000.
Then there are the refugees.
A wonderful amazing thing is happening in our city. Perhaps more so than any other city in New Zealand. Certainly well out of proportion to our size. This is what is published on their web site. Having arrived in New Zealand, the geographic spread of refugees tends to follow the national pattern of population concentrations, with the major urban regions being the main areas of refugee resettlement. A high proportion are located in Auckland. RMS has responsibility for selecting where incoming quota refugees will be resettled. These decisions are made on whether family or friends are already living in an area and what services and support are available in which city for people from a particular community.
Despite this bias to channel people into Auckland a group of good people in Nelson have decided to get in behind refugees from Burma (Mayamar). I put to the refugee organisation some questions.
Number of refugees that have come to Nelson in the last 12 months . 96
Number of Burmese in Nelson. 128 Chin, 5 Karen, 38 Burmese.
Number of Burmese households 32 Chin house holds, 1 Karen and 7 Burmese
Are all the refugees from Burma or do you assist other races also. All the refugees we have assisted in the last year are from Burma
Are they required to stay in Nelson whilst they learn English, and how long is the training program
before they have to seek work. As residents of New Zealand when they arrive here they have the freedom to go where ever they wish too,
we recommend that they study English, and they can learn for up to 2 years free. Some choose to use this to their advantage some others
choose to work and study, some just to work.
How many volunteers are working with them. This year we have trained 74 new volunteers who are working in the field with the new refugee families, volunteers work for a six month contract
but many after that time have become friends with the families/men and are still in contact with them.
The net increase of dwellings in Nelson is about 250 per year being the difference between building consents and demolishions. Our city is expanding both numerically and socially to accept these new people. They all appear to have a good work ethic and make great tenants, neighbours, and citizens.
Refugee Resettlement (RMS) in conjunction with Nelson Refugee Assistance (NRA) is the organization that is responsible for resettling the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refuges) We receive 750 refugees to New Zealand every year, in 6 intakes of 125 dispersed throughout New Zealand.
Nelson has been received a high proportion of these refugees in 2006 and will continue to receive refugees from Burma throughout 2007, many which will be family reunification.
Our programme is open to any volunteers wishing to assist us with our work. Our next NZQA programme is starting on the 6th March and runs for seven evenings spread over 4 weeks. Anyone who would be interested in attending this programme and assisting us in resettling refugees please feel free to contact Dawn Clarke Training Co-ordinator Nelson [email protected] or 021 228 2073
THE MARKET
Some of you may recall I mentioned in the last newsletter about the lack of properties to let. This trend has continues and it appears most other property managers in Nelson are finding the same. The feel of the market is just like back in 2001 when the supply was not increasing but the demand was. Rents are breaking through some of the traditional glass ceilings with the $400 barrier being shattered for the top range properties. Down in North Road and Murphy Street that the writer visits on a regular basis it is now possible to have a bit more choice of tenants than was possible 12 months ago. Despite what some analysts might be claiming it appears that rents are moving up something like 5 to 10%. The better properties are doing best out of the movement due to that glass-ceiling thing mentioned above.
DESTINATION NELSON
The world is beating a path to Nelson and Tasman and most of us are still wondering what is going on. This is a major factor in real estate sales and is impacting on the rental market also. Clearly the upper end is dominated by the UK arrivals but other nationalities are in on the act also. I have had tenants from Indonesia, Samoa, Vietnam South and North, Korea, Canada, Switzerland, France, USA, Tonga, Cook Islands, Burma (Myanmar), Ireland, Germany, Thailand, India, Parkistan, China, Australia, and North Africa, and Spain.
Here is what others from out of Nelson are saying about the phenominum.
A forum contributer.
I think Nelson house price growth is immigration based. Immigration sunk and so did Nelson. Immigration is up again now and Nelson has benefited. The amount of times I've heard Nelson mentioned on foreign forums as some sort of Shangri-La to escape to is astounding. So to test my theory I went to Google to see where the noise was. My
search results were as follows:
Immigrate Nelson NZ - 779,000 hits
Immigrate Wellington NZ - 604,000 hits
Immigrate Auckland NZ - 818,000 hits
Immigrate Queenstown NZ - 139,000 hits
Immigrate Christchurch NZ - 332,000 hits.
So it seems Nelson is very popular, second only to Auckland. Considering it's size, this is quite remarkable.
A new arrival blogger
About a month later, we got on a plane and spent a week in Nelson. We looked at the house we originally found online, as well as some others. We also did some driving, visiting Picton and Abel Tasman National Park. We were absolutely amazed at what we were seeing: no billboards on two-lane highways that run through incredible landscapes; the bright sunshine and quality of light; walking on the beautiful beaches, which are so accessible; art galleries and organic cafes even in the middle of nowhere; the friendly, happy, laid-back people In fact, I had started noticing the difference as soon as we arrived in the
Country. While awaiting our flight to Nelson in the
This newsletter has been sponsored by SBS. Proud to be a Building Society not a Registered Bank.
Wellington airport, I was amazed at how genuinely happy everyone around us seemed.
As an American, I am used to grumpy faces on both the travellers and employees at airports, so I was a little bit amazed - was everyone on vacation or something? But the more people we talked to, the more I realized that this is just how New Zealanders are.
A week is not nearly enough time to experience New Zealand if you’re just going for a visit, but it was enough for us to know that we wanted to go back - to stay.
A lawyer specialising in immigration
Compared with what you probably paid for your current home, you’ll find your currency converted to New Zealand dollars will go a very long way in our real estate market. Owning our own home is something that two-thirds of us have chosen to do and is still affordable for most. While suburban houses still account for 85 percent of house sales, inner-city and semi-rural living are becoming increasingly popular options.
The following is a look at some of our more common housing styles and the price range they generally fall into. The prices mentioned are indicative and vary by region.
Suburban family home
Featuring anywhere between three and five bedrooms, these large family homes built on reasonably sized, established sections make up a significant proportion of New Zealand housing.
They normally have fenced front and back yards so the kids and pets have plenty of space to play safely. Drive-on access and a one car garage complete the home. These properties would have an average price of around NZ$400,000.
Then there are the refugees.
A wonderful amazing thing is happening in our city. Perhaps more so than any other city in New Zealand. Certainly well out of proportion to our size. This is what is published on their web site. Having arrived in New Zealand, the geographic spread of refugees tends to follow the national pattern of population concentrations, with the major urban regions being the main areas of refugee resettlement. A high proportion are located in Auckland. RMS has responsibility for selecting where incoming quota refugees will be resettled. These decisions are made on whether family or friends are already living in an area and what services and support are available in which city for people from a particular community.
Despite this bias to channel people into Auckland a group of good people in Nelson have decided to get in behind refugees from Burma (Mayamar). I put to the refugee organisation some questions.
Number of refugees that have come to Nelson in the last 12 months . 96
Number of Burmese in Nelson. 128 Chin, 5 Karen, 38 Burmese.
Number of Burmese households 32 Chin house holds, 1 Karen and 7 Burmese
Are all the refugees from Burma or do you assist other races also. All the refugees we have assisted in the last year are from Burma
Are they required to stay in Nelson whilst they learn English, and how long is the training program
before they have to seek work. As residents of New Zealand when they arrive here they have the freedom to go where ever they wish too,
we recommend that they study English, and they can learn for up to 2 years free. Some choose to use this to their advantage some others
choose to work and study, some just to work.
How many volunteers are working with them. This year we have trained 74 new volunteers who are working in the field with the new refugee families, volunteers work for a six month contract
but many after that time have become friends with the families/men and are still in contact with them.
The net increase of dwellings in Nelson is about 250 per year being the difference between building consents and demolishions. Our city is expanding both numerically and socially to accept these new people. They all appear to have a good work ethic and make great tenants, neighbours, and citizens.
Refugee Resettlement (RMS) in conjunction with Nelson Refugee Assistance (NRA) is the organization that is responsible for resettling the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refuges) We receive 750 refugees to New Zealand every year, in 6 intakes of 125 dispersed throughout New Zealand.
Nelson has been received a high proportion of these refugees in 2006 and will continue to receive refugees from Burma throughout 2007, many which will be family reunification.
Our programme is open to any volunteers wishing to assist us with our work. Our next NZQA programme is starting on the 6th March and runs for seven evenings spread over 4 weeks. Anyone who would be interested in attending this programme and assisting us in resettling refugees please feel free to contact Dawn Clarke Training Co-ordinator Nelson [email protected] or 021 228 2073
Disclaimer. Anyone stupid enough to act on advice or comments in this newsletter without thinking for themselves deserves to suffer the consequences.
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