1. We all knew it was coming however reality hit when opening the letter or email. I’m talking about the local council rates for the July 2024 to June 2025 period. Hastings went up a whopping 21% which does factor in some of the cyclone recovery cost. Did you know rebates are available under certain circumstances? You can also choose to pay weekly or monthly, which while doesn’t help reduce the cost, it may help with cashflow.

2. I see numerous properties for sale not marketed with a price which is a real bugbear of mine. What often happens is that the property can stay on the market for some time without a lot of activity. By the time the vendor and real estate understand a different marketing approach is needed to sell the property the listing has become stale. At this point prospective purchases may think there is something wrong with the property or they have found another property.

3. Lending to purchase a property seems to becoming easier from a servicing perspective. So what’s changed? With interest rates falling the rates banks use to test whether you can afford a property are also decreasing. Changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act regulations have also come into effect with rates and insurance costs not having to be added back. Finally, the government’s income tax changes mean most of us have more money in our pockets and have more borrowing power.