Last week I touched on the issue of holding local government accountable in the processing of resource consents arena. I also mentioned local government’s penchant for viewing property as a bottomless well to fund its ever growing empire. Interestingly, that very dependence on property as a principal source of revenue has caught local government on the hop as property values come back and development dries up in the face of recession. And so what is the response from local More...

Karen Worley - Group Marketing Manager Click to view Eves property listings. In our business there have been a number of positive effects already from the new regulations in the Real Estate Act 2008. For our Eves teams it has provided a continued focus on an already well established ongoing training and professional procedure approach. It has enabled and More...

Brian Berry - Financial Advisor Straight forward, quality financial advice - so you can get  on with the fun stuff in life.  Click  to view Rothbury’s website. Despite the fact that the Aussie Reserve Bank increased their version of the OCR (Official Cash Rate) on Tuesday, it appears that there is not going to be More...

Last week I spoke of the bureaucracy’s love of property as a source of revenue in terms of local government using it as a means of striking and collecting rates. It was therefore with some relish that I learnt of the government’s plans to make local government more accountable in the processing of resource consent applications. Typically, local bodies are not very understanding towards ratepayers who are late with their rates payments and impose stiff penalties for such More...

Karen Worley - Group Marketing Manager Click to view Eves property listings. The main real estate feature over recent weeks has been the number of homes now coming onto the market for sale. The weather is still great, our region continues to attract new residents and many sellers have completed improvements to house and garden, a good time to sell and a good time to buy. An important aspect of More...

Ross Stanway - CEO Realty Services Click to view Bayleys property listings. Positive news always makes you feel good. It lifts your spirits and puts a spring in your step. This is exactly how I felt when reading the SunLive article “Big economic bounce for Bay”. The last few years have been a very tough environment in which to conduct business whilst maintaining high standards of More...

Brian Berry - Financial Advisor Straight forward, quality financial advice - so you can get  on with the fun stuff in life.  Click  to view Rothbury’s website. Yes, it appears that it is time to sit tight for the next two and possibly three months and take advantage of the low variable interest rates. When I More...

It’s amazing what a week can do to many situations. The past week has seen the prospect of a land tax being put to bed by the government. The suggestion of a land tax had many negative implications for the property sector and would have weakened it as an investment option. However, it does highlight a disturbing mindset within the system which basically says that property is always going to be fair game as far as being a source of tax for government is concerned. One only has to More...

Karen Worley - Group Marketing Manager Click to view Eves property listings. Prime Minister John Key has signaled reform in three key areas, with details expected in May’s Budget. # Income tax top rate goes from 38 per cent to 33 per cent  # GST goes to 15 per cent  # Depreciation allowances removed for buildings and loss limits put on rental More...

Ross Stanway - CEO Realty Services Click to view Bayleys property listings. The Winter Olympics are in full swing and even though it started with tragedy its great to see the athletes all pick themselves up and carry on. I was recently reading an article about what makes great Olympic athletes. There were six key attributes that all those that were questioned appeared to have. They are: 1. The More...