[Debs]

Anyones views on this would be great -
We figured as we are heading to Wellington with around $350,000 that we'd find it easy to buy a good sized four bed house in a good area - having done some research on the internet it seems houses are really expensive - anyone's thoughts would be great -
We are planning on renting for a while, but wanted an idea of how far our cash will go when we want to buy.We had visions of a big house with lots of land in a good area with good schools -but it seems that we can't afford that at all!!!

What I have found on the internet is that houses seem much more expensive than expected if you want to live in the good family areas - is this the case?

[holland]

Hello, I too have only done research on the internet, and from what I can gather for the type of area and house you want I think $450,000 would be closer to the mark...I may be wrong, and it will vary from place to place. We have similar capital to yourselves, and I have been lulled into thinking that the houses are more expensive than expected...but this is because I want something for nothing!!!!! and it isnt going to happen, realistically they are really reasonable, certainly in comparison to what can be bought in uk.

I would love no morgage...and this would be the dream...but I would rather have a nicer house/area with a mortgage, that a house bought outright in a not so favourable area....(think thats politically correct!!!!:laugh )

Good luck with search, sorry I cant be of more help, everyone in NZ should be waking up soon, and I am sure they will give you more informative replies!

[Trigirl]

if you want to be in wellington (as opposed to in the hutt or on the kapiti coast) then $350,000 is simply not going to get you a 4 bed house in a nice area. you probably would get something for that amount on the kapiti coast though.

[gonzo]

Hi there,

From the sound of things you are looking to live in central(ish) Wellington ie the city and its immediate suburbs. I think you willbe very fortunate indeed to get a four bedroom house in a good suburb for the sort of money you are envisaging. If you were talking Brooklyn, Kelburn, Khandalla or Karori $550,000+ would probably be entry level for a quality four bedroom house. If you were thinking Seatoun or Rosenheath you could add another $150,000. The Northern suburbs are less expensive but don't guarantee getting your children in to the right schools. The housing market has been red hot recently and given recent interest rate rises and with the forecast of more to come you may wish to consider putting the money on deposit and renting as rental yields on propert in NZ are very low compared to the UK largely because of investment demand i.e people use property as a proxy for pension plans in NZ and there are associated tax breaks. As mentioned by other contributors $350.000 to $450,000 will probably get you a nice four bedrroom property in the Lower to Upper Hutt corridor, areas such as Silverstream and Stokes valley or on the Kapiti coast.

www.trademe.co.nz will give you some idea of current prices.

[sizzlingbadger]

Have a look at the Wairarapa as well. Although prices here seem to be rocketing at the moment as well :exit

A year ago you may well have been able to get a decent sized house for $350k but it seems to have jumped again to $4-450k upwards a lot of the time.

[jess]

Sorry, have to agree with the others. You can get what you want up here in Kapiti (although looking at listings, prices have gone up even since we bought in August). You can get it in Upper Hutt or some parts of Lower Hutt. I don't think you'll find "a good sized four bed house in a good area" in Welly for anywhere near $350K.

(Sometimes open2view (http://www.open2view.com/search/results?search_id=1544004&key=1fcd2de20f3d08e3e71f) can be misleading. If you put in 350K for a Wellington 4 bedroom home, amongst all the Upper Hutt and Kapiti listings, you'll currently see 2 Khandalla homes. They are actualy $1million houses (one with a rateable value of $960K) that the agents have incorrectly posted in the admin. side so that they show up for all price ranges.)

[sarahw]

Jess is right - Kapiti houses have gone up a lot recently - same as the rest of the Welly region. We've also found the web searches to be misleading because they sometimes put tender/auction properties in there that could go for $000's of K more than the prices you put into the search engine...

Have a look in Johnsonville (only 10 minutes from the city), Paparangi, Newlands, Tawa & the Hutt, Churton Park areas but you might struggle on this budget. The Porirua area has some cheaper housing (Porirua & Titahi Bay) but I wouldn't recommend moving there just incase you see it on the internet & think oooh those are good prices - there's generally a reason! Also take a look in Whitby - some of the 'older' properties (the whole place was only built 30 years ago) have larger sections than the newer houses & you tend to get good value for money.

I would have to agree that $450K would really be more about where you would be looking for 4 bed & $550-$600 for a 4 bed in a sought after location - you most definitely would find a spacious 3-bed home in Tawa/Paparangi for $350K (I've just been scanning the North Welly property pages.) We bought a 4 bed 2 years ago in Paremata for $405K & that was a bargain at the time for what it is - its now worth at least another $150K on top of that so that just shows how the prices have changed!

[Angelonthemove]

We are struggling on a $500 budget for a 3/4 bed 2 baths. We are going further out this weekend and looking at land and build to get more for our money (ecco house seen on forum last saturday). But then you have the wait for getting into your own property. We are currently renting and not making any mistakes until we know where we want to live. Small house less milage to work, or the same dream as yourselves and commute for an hour each way. there is always a price to pay. My advise if you can afford the extra payments on a mortgage and then can get home to the family and enjoy the longer evening, then go for the mortgage.

Whitby do have a lot of new builds going on around the area $500k and you get to design the shape size etc. On a pleasant estate, first junction past Porirua and 30 mins morning drive with queues at Johnsonville.

or 10 x 4 bed new build small garden but with verandas and views tucked in older end of Johnsonville, not new site, $485k. Plus Johnsonville is due to expand their shopping area to X10 in size add cinemas etc, so it will become a sought after area.

We are as confused as you and we have been here 8 months, still can't decide, and we get to see the places.

Good luck

[incredible hulse]

Debs, I've just looked through the local papers for 4 bed houses in Kapiti (Raumati, Prm and Wikanae) and the price ranges from 380k (1 house only)upwards. Most are upwards of 475k with most 3 beds starting round the 400k mark. To be honest from my research Kapiti is as expensive as Welly these days (excluding the Oriental Bay skew) and land prices are ridiculous (1 acre plot next to us is 275k with $1800 p/sqm build costs). The Hutt valley is slightly cheaper (Upper more so than Lower) but these are going up very quickly also. With that budget you would be looking at a nice 2/3 bed rather than 4 imho.

[Debs]

Thanks for the replies, confirms our worries.We thought so!

Our option might be to rent in Wellington until my Hubby can get a job elsewhere - somewhere not so expensive!

Any suggestions?

He's in IT Software so thats why we are heading to Wellington as mass of jobs, but if we can't afford to buy there then we will have to look elsewhere.

Where might be cheaper but still have an active IT job market ????

Help!

[pinkpiggy]

Hi Debs

Can't really comment on house prices but Christchurch is quite an active place for IT software developers. OH is in infrastructure so not quite as good for him. We are headed for Hamilton.

[Big Puku]

You'll struggle to get a decent 4 bed for $350k in most of greater Wgtn tbh - we bought recently in Upper Hutt and didn't see anywhere for less than $400k that was reasonable and in a good area. That is unless you are prepared to get a bit of a doer-upper? There are properties in East Porirua and Naenae that may fit in the budget though!

Kapiti coast only gets cheaper towards Waikanae that is just too far for most to commute (an hour if commute at midnight :) ). I commuted from Paekakariki and that was far enough!

IMO Wgtn is even keel with AKL for the IT Software market, with CHCH not far behind - there are jobs in other regional centres, just less of them and you have to be very lucky or your skills extremely in demand (a friend just got an IT Sales job in Tauranga, which has a tiny IT community).

BP

[clodestar]

Having just (yesterday) returned from reccy i have to agree with whats been said. You may get something on a $450K budget but more likely $500K. Another thing to consider is that many of the good secondary schools are zoned which can put $50K on the price. Otherwise you need to budget a $1000 a month for private schooling.Our daughter will be going to secondary if we go and that has ruled out Upper Hutt and Whitby unless we pay for private. Also cost of living is about the same as here. With a few exceptions ( books !) if something costs £2 it will be $6 although eating out,cars and petrol are cheaper. We're still considering.

[kirkandliz]

Hi All

We arrived in Welly earlier this month and TBH we been going through a period of eye opening moments since. Some great :) and some not so :uhoh
We have been surprised at the size of property you get for your money and generally how small most of the sections are - we have two young boys so was keen on a bit of a garden for them to play in

For us it is a big balancing game of value vs commute time.

The first two weeks were a case of driving around all the various suburbs every day - at diff times of the day as well to get a gage on what can be sought for what money.
It is true the further out you are prepared to go the more you will get for your money - but you have to weigh that against what can be an hour+ commute depending on location. Also have to consider whether a hill side property is a consideration or whether a flater section is required.
The sun can be a big factor as well - all the hills can play a major factor on when you get sun. For instance Churton Park is a good location, good school, good community, lots of older and newer style housing (Choice) etc etc Only down sides we found were price (Fairly expensive) and also it was almost completely in shadow by just gone 3pm (I know its coming into winter so wont be like that during the summer). I mention it because that could be a big factor for some - get round it by being careful on plot location.

Commute time and also commute route needs to be considered on how you will get into the city.

If its by car - can you afford the petrol and do you have a park, if no supplied park can you afford $10 a day parking.
If by public transport - you have to consider the stages of transport. For instance we looked at Whitby (A great area IMO) and the commute would mean a quick drive/bus to the train station - a 30-40 min train ride to the city - then a 10-15min bus ride/walk across to my work. So all in all a 3 stage hour+ trip each way.

Our plan was/is to rent for at least 6 months to try an settle and see how the area goes before considering buying.
Rentals go very quickly - so would def recommend to do some research beforehand and be positive when viewing - if you like somewhere be prepared to move on it (Hence do the research before).
Again value of rentals depend on location of course as well. $400-$500 per week won't get much in the city (actually quite shocked at some places) but further out a reasonable 4 bed can be sought out for that price

So we have decided on a rental in the Greenacres area near Tawa. It is out of the city so will be a small commute (half hour) but it is big enough so that we are not on top of each other. Great view of the valley and all day sun (Which is a big boon for the OH). A walk to the local primary but more than a walk to the shops (So will prob need two cars - but will see if one will do for now).

The thoughts of buying are right on the backburner with the exchange rate in its current state - just have to hope we can survive without that money - just have to see how it goes.

Well that's about it for my ramblings - hopefully helps somebody!

[eternalkiwi]

For a tidy 4 bedroom home in greater Wellington $450-550k would be a typical range for a tidy home in an average or better area.

My personal pick of areas would be Tawa or neighbouring suburbs, as it has a good balance between value for money housing, local amenities & shops, good schools , good public transport (esp. trains) and still maintaining a reasonable commuting distance to the city.

As Kirkandliz highlighted do consider light and dryness/wind direction, while the hills and valleys provide a nice backdrop, they can also bring other issues.

Shawn

[Big Puku]

Having just (yesterday) returned from reccy i have to agree with whats been said. You may get something on a $450K budget but more likely $500K. Another thing to consider is that many of the good secondary schools are zoned which can put $50K on the price. Otherwise you need to budget a $1000 a month for private schooling.Our daughter will be going to secondary if we go and that has ruled out Upper Hutt and Whitby unless we pay for private. Also cost of living is about the same as here. With a few exceptions ( books !) if something costs £2 it will be $6 although eating out,cars and petrol are cheaper. We're still considering.

One of the reasons we chose Upper Hutt rather than the Porirua/Whitby area was that there was some good secondary schools in the area for our 15 year old (Upper Hutt College, St Pats Heretaunga, Hutt International etc), whereas the choice around Porirua seemed to be travel to Tawa or Kapiti (varying reports on Aotea College!).

Matt