The Bay of Plenty rural property market is coping much better than the urban market with stability in median sale prices and quantities sold according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. The June figures for urban areas in the Western Bay of Plenty showed four month and year on year lows. In contrast, the rural market for the three month period ending June was reasonably stable in the Bay of Plenty with the median sale price for a farm up to $1,035,000 from More...

There is cause for optimism in the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand according to Advantage Realty managing director Simon Martin.  The figures revealed the property market in the Western Bay of Plenty is in a slump with Tauranga's median sale price down to $330,000 in June - a four year low for that month, and down from $340,000 in May. Advantage Realty managing director Simon Martin says the property market in the Bay of Plenty is not all bad. The number More...

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand is reporting the Western Bay of Plenty property market is on the decline with both sale prices and number of sales down. The Tauranga city median sale price was down to $330,000 in June - a four year low for that month, and down from $340,000 in May. The number of sales in the city for the month was also down, listed at 81 for June from 97 sales in May. It is a similar story for the Mount Maunganui and Papamoa property market with the median price of More...

Latest figures from Quotable Value show property prices in Tauranga have climbed 0.7 per cent. The figures compare the three months to the end of June, 2010, to the same period last year. Average sale price for the region increased from $409,376 during the previous quarter to $413,957 in the three months to June. The slight increase in the gap in values between this year and last does not reflect a market recovery, according to Quotable Value. Unlike most of the other main centres, More...

Housing New Zealand staff across the Western Bay of Plenty will join their colleagues across the country in taking industrial action. Staff are 'working to rule' until further notice. Public Service Association national secretary, Richard Wagstaff, says workers have been forced to strike because of a breakdown in negotiations over the previous 10 months. "We're extremely disappointed that despite this long period of negotiation, the corporation has failed to address workers' More...

The median sale price for a Bay of Plenty farm continues to fall in the long term and was down to $975,000 for the three month period ending May. The latest statistics from Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show that this is nearly $500,000 less than in the May 2008 period when the median sale price was $1,465,000. In the May 2009 period, the median sale price for a Bay of Plenty farm was $1,150,000. On the flipside, the current median sale price is an increase of about $50,000 from More...

Property prices have dropped in the Western Bay of Plenty with a significant decrease in the median price of Tauranga homes - some $30,000. The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show that in May the median property price in Tauranga was $340,000, down from $370,000 in April. There were 97 sales in Tauranga in each month. Prices dropped in the rest of the Western Bay of Plenty too, with the median price in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa down to $390,000 from $412,500 in More...

Tauranga Maori land trust Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Incorporated has received $2.17 million from the government's Housing Innovation Fund. It will use this money to build 30 houses over the next three years. Victoria Kingi says the 30 homes to be built are a big help for people struggling with expensive housing in Tauranga. They will be built on a $2.5 million area of their own land at Te Maunga. About 50 per cent of the government funding will be repaid by the trust. Mangatawa Papamoa More...

Rural property sales are on the up, although this may just be a reflection on the decreasing prices in the sector. In the Bay of Plenty in the three month period ending April, the median price for a farm was $922,500 compared to being $950,000 in the three month period ending March. It was, however, up on the median price for the three month period ending April 2009, which was $915,000. There were 26 farm sales in the recent period. These were 20 horticulture, three grazing and one More...

Changes to New Zealand's property tax system will create more certainty and confidence in the market, says a Tauranga property expert. Harcourts Advantage Reality Tauranga owner, Max Martin, says the new rules announced in the 2010 Budget will mean people have to be more careful where they invest. The main changes outlined in the Budget include wiping depreciation deductions for rental properties and office buildings. Inland Revenue will also receive funding to investigate property More...